The Fanfic Saga
by Rhuen
Summary: The collected adventures of Rhulan and related characters placed in chronological order as they encounter various entities in the multi-verse. Collected here also events not previously seen on this site.
1. Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

Around the year 20 of the Aesperian Calendar, Rhulan left Aesperia go on a search through time and space looking for her brother. Her initial attempt lead her back through the same trans-dimensional path the Ark ship had traversed, in the spinning vortex of realities intertwined she followed her brother's unique life energy. As she traveled down that path she came upon a most unusual occurrence, something resembling a physical barrier.

This circular gate was inscribed with demonic imagery and symbols; she stood upon it even as the wormhole spun around her. She could sense that her brother had gone beyond this gate. She summoned up her power, the Cataclysm of mystical energy, the attack she named the Violet Phoenix. This massive out pouring of mystical energy did not go un-noticed and she found herself grabbed by unknown forces as she assaulted the gate. In this manner did Rhulan The Celestial Sorceress come to be in the Society of Sorcery; a secret society existing in a bubble of space time outside the known multi-verse. Here sorcerers and sorceresses of extreme un-natural power could study and learn from each other as they also studied the very nature of reality its self. Rhulan does not know how long she was here, for space and time are warped in this place and beyond it.

While in the Society of Sorcery Rhulan expanded her own mystical knowledge, she was a far faster learner than most in the society were comfortable with; they (the elders of this place) were ancient long before she was ever born yet in what seemed like a short time she was mastering their greatest spells. She would sneak about to learn them, an innate power with in her allowing her to copy and adapt their energies. She was even using the Forbidden Eye spell of Odin Ordane to peer out into the multi-verse in search of her brother. The society viewed her as a threat and a liability, however just as they were prepared to expel her from their realm; she left claiming they had nothing more to teach her; and revealing her own secret spells, a mastery over chaos energy that none dared dream possible she split through time and space; figuring their bubble was merely a slowed down time compared to the realm she now knew to be called "Other World" which also exists in a peculiar alignment of time space. She could now sense that her brother's energy signature had spread though time space, traveling about, and it had changed in a way hard for her to track; more demonic, and blended easily with so many other cosmic entity energy signatures. This began her quest to investigate any anomalous energy signatures through out time and space; and her rampant encounters with the strange beings that exist out there.


	2. Chapter 2: Rhulan vs Freddy

The dimensional portal opens in the air three stories up above a quiet sub-urban street that could be anywhere in Middle America. The street light shines briefly on the form of Rhulan before she casts a cloaking spell upon herself.

"Another boring Earth," she says, "yet…something here has drawn my attention from between the void…heh…I sound like one of those elder god things now. Anywho…this world does have a few mystical signatures, not many, and scattered about. I see, a mostly empty world, any strong beings residing here would stand out like sore thumbs…so what is right…here."

She looks to her right at a common looking house, nothing special, nothing to make it stand out amongst the others, and yet to her there might as well be fire works and a neon sigh saying [_Here be something_].

She floats over to the window of the second story of the house, moving as silent as a gentle breeze. With a wave of her hand the window opens with nary a sound. Inside however is another story as a teenage boy struggles in his sleep as though being chased by some phantom assailant.

"A Psionic attack," says Rhulan as she floats over to the bed side, "I wander where your opponent truly is."

She places her left hand on the boy's head, a blue archaic sigil forming in the air before her hand above his head and her eyes glowing blue.

Inside the mind of the child Rhulan's form is projected, here is a place of drab metal hallways, chains, pipes, and the sound of screaming and running as the boy's astral form scurries past her, not even seeing her as she is cloaked against such an untrained consciousness. The thing chasing the child however is another story. This man covered in burned scar tissue, a fedora hat, odd sweater, and a glove with blades on it stops and inspects her, saying in a creepy raspy voice, "and who have we here, another kiddy come to join the party?"

"Dream Slasher?" asks Rhulan, "No…you are not him…heh…you are more vulnerable. I see a creature of psychic energy, hmmm."

He clicks his finger blades and points at her, "you better run bitch, Freddy's gonna get ya.'"

"Try," says Rhulan stepping towards him.

"Ha," says Freddy Vanishing and appearing right in front of her, his blades slashing at her, clearly close enough to inflict damage on anyone…anyone save an astral form this powerful, as the nightmarish serial killer no doubt realizes as he looks at his blades, half missing with blue sparks emanating from the missing space.

"Tricky, tricky, little cunt," spouts the foul mouthed demonic creature as his blades reform, "you're awake aren't you. You're in my realm bitch, and no one beats Freddy!"

Wires appear and wrap around Rhulan's wrists, ankles, waist, and throat.

"Okay," says Freddy walking up close and tapping her cheek with his blade, "give me a scream you little..cu…"

Freddy Krueger is flung through the air from behind by an invisible force grabbing him. The image of Rhulan fades away as mist. The area behind where she was distorts, turns black, and something moves in the darkness…no…the very darkness its self moves. Many things moving, black smoke with eel like bodies and bird like heads with tiny pointed ears and glowing read eyes swarm in the darkness. Black vines covered in thorns with little red gems; like eyes stretch out from the darkness and grabs the dreamscape, devouring it. The space turns dark as the vines extend, as the swarming horrors extend.

Freddy growls as he looks ahead of him, "you…you're not human!" he screams.

"Indeed I am not," comes the voice of Rhulan from all directions, "little Fear Lord, Nightmare King, what ever title you wish, I am your devourer, come little psychic snack come to me and be released from your parasitic existence."

"I'm Freddy Krueger you little cunt!" he screams, "I am fear and terror, I'll carve up every kid in this town and…"

He backs up and opens a door with a light behind it, "later bitchy!" he smiles and leaps back into the door.

Back in the waking world Rhulan removes her hand from the kid's head and her eyes return to normal, "I see, you can exit a mind with out escaping into the Dream World or another mind despite your lack of form. A Fear Lord that exists in limbo, I'd say fascinating if you weren't such an annoying prick."

She holds her left hand over the kid, a blue sigil forming in the air, she whispers a little chant. The sigil shrinks and falls to the kid's forehead, glowing on it briefly before vanishing.

"Now," says Rhulan, "you shall walk amongst your peers, anyone with in telepathic range will be…infected…by the cure. If that…Freddy Krueger…should intrude in such a mind it will find its self being eaten away at like acid by your dreamscapes unable to harm anything, until it has no where to go. I doubt such a prideful thing would be content to stay in limbo and no doubt will try to fight the spell, heh, what little good that will do it."

She leaves the sub-urban house and flies into the air, "now then, my good deed done, lets see if something a bit more interesting lies at the other end of the supernatural threads of this world."


	3. Chapter 3: Rhulan vs Jason

The dimensional portal opens, Rhulan using it to cross distances over the planet as she zeroes in on a particular target. This time she is above some summer camp, no lights on anywhere, forest, and a still lake. The silence of the night is disrupted by the screams of two people, a boy and a girl, teens, young adults, Rhulan can not be certain; as they run from the woods towards the lake.

Rhulan juts down quickly from the sky between this frightened pair and the large man in the hockey mask chasing them. They pause only a moment looking at her before their flight or fight instinct kicks in and keeps them running. A machete comes down on Rhulan from behind; which she catches between her index finger and ring finger, she looks over her shoulder and smiles. The large man only has a moment to cock his head before Rhulan says, "Shocker." Electric bolts fly from her fingers and sends the large man flying backwards, smashing into a large tree with an audible *twack*. Rhulan tosses the machete between her fingers into the air, and into the lake.

The large man gets up and starts walking towards her.

"So you are who I sensed then," says Rhulan.

"Run lady!" shouts the guy from the row boat he and the girl are trying to escape in, "that's Jason Voorhees! You can't kill him!"

"Loud children," says Rhulan narrowing her eyes, "and stupid too, do they not know this is a lake?"

The girl screams as Jason comes right behind Rhulan and raises his fist, much to their surprise however she simply spins around and catches Jason in his side with her fist sending him flying through the wall of a cabin. Undaunted Jason rises again holding a pipe which he throws at Rhulan like a spear. She simply puts out a hand and stops the pipe in mid-air with an invisible force.

"Telekinetic thrust." says Rhulan nonchalantly.

The pipe reverses course and impales Jason in the gut. He is unfazed by this assault and pulls the pipe out; this time holding it as he heads straight for Rhulan. Before he can reach her she holds her hand out saying, "Telekinetic hold."

She turns around, Jason held in mid-air.

"Telekinetic thrust," she says sending him flying through the air into the lake.

The couple in the boat screams, but then is silenced as Rhulan flies over and lands on the water next to the boat.

"You…your…" says the girl pointing at her feet just standing on the water.

"Who am I fighting…exactly?" asks Rhulan.

"He…" says the guy looking at the girl in disbelief before answering, "He's Jason Voorhees…he…he's just a stupid fucking legend…he's not supposed to be real."

"I told you!" screams the girl, "he.." she starts to cry, "he killed them all, Tabitha, April…"

"Silence," says Rhulan waving her hand, taking the girl's voice.

She holds her throat unable to speak, frightened.

"Another murderer," says Rhulan rolling her eyes, "only the second creature, but still two in a row is not spelling out well for this world's supernatural forces. Pathetic. You brats included."

She lifts her hand pulling the boat into the air with an invisible force just as Jason was about to try and grab the side of the boat. With a motion she sends the boat landing back on shore.

"Now run…this time away from the killer."

They don't need any more encouragement and flee.

Jason pops from the water grabbing Rhulan's ankle. He struggles trying to pull her down but to no avail.

"Please," says Rhulan, "you're strong, but not that strong."

She smiles and flies straight up, "hold on if you can zombie…mutant…what ever you are tall dark and silent."

High in the air Jason is still holding on, dangling about like a fish on a line. He stops only after looking down; he freezes up looking straight down.

"huh," thinks Rhulan, "I just picked up on child like fear from this thing…oh well."

She smiles and says, "teleport." She vanishes, Jason does not. The natural result being that Jason now plummets back to Earth, smashing into the water sending up a massive splash.

Rhulan re-appears at the dock.

*splash* Jason lunges from the lake.

"Oh for hell fire's sake!" shouts Rhulan followed by, "Telekinetic Hold."

She once again is holding him in the air, "Man you are hard to kill aren't you. Well I'm done playing with you so…"

She flings him up onto the shore.

"Let's be done with you." She holds her hand out, glowing red.

She murmurs something and says, "Hell Fire Blast!"

A blast of intense fire cascades over Jason, and the cabin behind him, some of the forest, until blasting into the side of a ditch some distance off, the intensity of the fire sucking up any flames that might go astray like a vacuum from hell. Jason is reduced to ash, and ashen smoke, as is the cabin behind him, and a good number of trees, shrubs, and anything else unlucky enough to be in the path of the blast. The two surviving teens luckily for them reached the road and now are only seeing the red glow from behind them. When it's over there is a clear path of destroyed land going from the lake side through the camp and the woods.

This intense localized fire will be a mystery on the news that will raise conspiracies about alien space crafts, military experiments, no one believes the two teens that Jason rose from the grave and was killed by a super-hero woman in a cape. Between their trauma and this event they are rightfully committed to an asylum where they eventually are lead to believe a copy cat killer killed their friends and then set off some kind of bomb killing himself. That story and the ones before it are just as quickly forgotten by the local community as the next big story about celebrity babies or scandals in DC hit the news.

It's just as well that Rhulan's battle is forgotten as she leaves this place un-satisfied with her findings on this world, and something evil stirs in the ash as it is buried deep in the ground by and fed by the rain; mud and rock merging with ash to form a ribcage and a heart, which starts to beat.


	4. Chapter 4: Hellraiser

The locks were no trouble, neither the alarm, for thanks to an as of yet un-named technique Rhulan picked up she could enter any locked door or touch any alarm system and open them and disarm them, magical ones have a green flash and the sound of shattering glass; these technological ones however only a spark as they short out. Not that it matters this place isn't a museum, bank, or any high security installation; it is a private home, and this room is a private collection display.

After her battles on this world with a nightmare king, and a large undead mutant lake curse; she's not certain how to label it; she sensed the only other prevalent supernatural forces were inert, their nature not clear; so she decided to head for the closest one. Imagine her surprise to find this strong demonic essence locked away in a collection room sitting on a pedestal under glass and is nothing more than a little gold colored ornate cube.

As she handles it part of it moves, "A puzzle box?" she queries as she continues to mess with it. After a while it moves on its own and a darkness appears by the door to the room.

"Interesting," says Rhulan turning towards the door, "A portable dimensional gate generator?"

Hooks on chains fly from the walls towards her, rather than bouncing off her defensive aura as she expected they are absorbed, leaving loose chains dangling from the ceiling with blue sparks dancing where they had contacted Rhulan's aura.

A man wearing tight leather, some even punctured into his flesh and pins in his head appears, as does a few other leather clad abominations. One of them starts to walk towards Rhulan but the Pin Headed one puts out an arm saying, "This one is not for us. It is the desire of the owner of the cube that summons us."

Rhulan merely raises an eyebrow, seemingly ignoring the demons as she touches a chain, it fades away at her touch, the essence dissolving into her aura.

"Demonic manifestations," says Rhulan, "so this box is a portable hell gate, interesting."

She looks briefly at the demons, "and it summons tormentor demons."

She levitates the cube and moves the puzzle with her mind. The demons vanish as she puts the cube back to normal.

The doorway returns to normal and she smiles, "so a tormentor demon that knows its limitations, fascinating."

She looks at a closed door, behind which she can sense more of these cubes.

"If what that demon says is true, then the owner of this place is a fool who deserves to die."

She is about to put the cube back, but turns it around in her hand, "but this one…I think I'll keep this one for my own private collection."

The inner lining of her cape turns from red to black as she puts the cube in it.

Beyond the cape there is a massive warehouse, in which a floating robot with mechanical tentacles carries the cube up a high shelf, activates a flat screen in front of a black cube device. A portal opens, a light scans the cube, and it vanishes. The screen displays the item, now listed beside several other palm held magical portal devices.

"That's one for me," says Rhulan still in the collection room as she opens the door with six other cubes inside, "and looks like this man has six other ways to get himself horribly mutilated, heh."

She takes one and sets it on the pedestal, "Private collectors, I wander if this proto-human will even notice one is missing…heh…before he gets horribly mutilated by those demons."

She leaves the way she came, no doubt he will notice something is wrong thanks to all the broken locks and disarmed alarms, for while Rhulan knows how to disarm alarms, her repair spells only work on solid none electrical objects; despite all her spells she never learned one for repairing electrical equipment. She flies into the air and vanishes through a dimensional portal.

Meanwhile in the depths of this world's hell Pin Head smiles, "Soon the hands of desire will summon us, we have such sights to show you Dr. Philip Channard…such sights indeed."


	5. Chapter 5: Rhulan vs The Hulk

"So you are the strongest life force on this world?" says Rhulan hovering before the giant green muscular man in the middle of the desert, "a troll?"

"Hulk no troll," says the Hulk, "Hulk is Hulk, rrrrr."

He takes a few steps towards her, fists and teeth clenched.

"All threats will be treated in kind," says Rhulan, "now be gone beast, Thunder Cannon!"

A beam like blast of lightning erupts from her hand shooting the Hulk square in the chest, the jade giant steps back, growls and lunges at her.

"Spirit Shield." Says Rhulan her hand outstretched raising a barrier of spiritual energy.

*kra-koom!*

The Hulk's fist meets her shield, and the next thing Rhulan knows she is flying backwards and smashing into a rock, shattering the stone.

"Shit," says Rhulan leaning forward shaking her head, "what the…oh shit!"

The Hulk is barreling down on her and *zip* she vanishes in a short ranged burst of speed as the behemoth's massive fist splinters the rock where Rhulan had been.

Up above, Rhulan looks down studying the beast, her eyes glowing blue, "what the hell are you?" she murmurs.

"Raaaah!" roars the Hulk leaping far into the air and grabbing Rhulan by the feet, his speed for his size and jumping height of over a hundred feet taking the sorceress by surprise.

*crack!* the Hulk slams her into the stone ground of the desert like a club, lifts her into the air and smashes her into the ground again with another very loud *crack*.

Rhulan's eyes blaze with an inner fire as she kicks her legs free, surprising the Hulk. She grist her own teeth *growling* her body glowing with an eerie blue flame. She lunges at the Hulk, smashing her fist into his face with a right hook, a left hook, and then a palm strike to the chest sending the Hulk back a few feet, but by no means off his feet.

"Magic lady strong," says the Hulk, "but Hulk strongest there is!" He raises both fists and brings them down above Rhulan.

"Teleport!" says Rhulan, this time vanishing and appearing above one of the few clouds in the desert sky.

She rubs her shoulder, "shit," she whispers to herself, "that thing is too damned strong for a frontal assault, and fast. The second I try a spell it could be on me before I finish."

She clinches her sore fists hissing from the unfamiliar ache, "and built like a bloody mountain."

"No!" she shouts in her own head, "I am Rhulan the Sorceress! I have taken down armies, bio-ships, giant mech-suits and robots designed to destroy cities; I can handle one miserable little monster…just have to find its weakness."

She whispers a simple spell and turns invisible, hovering down above the huffing giant as he smashes more boulders growling, "where magic lady go? Weakling coward hide from Hulk!"

Her eye twitches, her lip curls, her pride wanting her to appear and smash the brute in the face with her fist. She shakes her head, and her eyes glow blue.

"Lets take a look at your aura," says thinks to herself, she narrows her eyes, "what is this…what are you?"

She smiles and appears right in front of the Hulk. Just as the Hulk is raising his fist she thrusts her hand, glowing with a spinning blue flame into the Hulk's face while shouting, "Psionic Dagger!"

A flash of light, and stillness; to an outside observer both combatants have stopped moving. The wind still blows, the tumble weeds still roll along with the wind. But The Hulk stands frozen like a statue, hand raised, Rhulan too is just floating there her right hand at the Hulk's face, her left on the side of his head, both glowing blue.

A strange place, darkness all around and a giant chess board, three pieces, one is a small skinny man as a pawn, there is a king that looks like the Hulk with a beard, and another that looks like the Hulk. A distinct *roar* from behind cues Rhulan to duck to the side with a roll and release a double handed plasma beam at the rampaging green man who tried to attack her from behind throwing him over the side. He jumps back up almost instantly.

"As I thought," says Rhulan, "you are not unlike a werewolf, although I was not expecting a whole crew of characters in this mind. Guess your true self has a thing for chess."

"Hulk true, Hulk self!" roars the Hulk.

"Hulk likes saying his name," says Rhulan.

"Now let's get this party started," she waves her hand and the pieces come to life.

"Who's the babe," says the Grey Hulk.

"You should not be here," says the large green one with a beard.

"Why," says the skinny man, "why would you endanger the world by destabilizing the hulk again? These, us…we.."

"Ungrateful human.." growls Rhulan.

"Hulk smash!"

Rhulan raises her hand, stopping the Hulk's fist.

"How?" says the Hulk, "magic lady not strong."

He raises his fist and pounds some more, Rhulan blocking each strike as though a mere baby were trying to fight her.

"The mind," says Rhulan, her voice echoing everywhere, "is linked to the Astral plane, in the physical world your body outmatches mine, but in here I need not chant incantations, in here I am like the goddess of life and death."

She flicks her finger and the Hulk is blasted away by a massive energy blast.

The large bearded Hulk is now sitting in a chair smiling. The Grey one shouts, "Ha, now I am the Hulk!"

-in the physical world the Hulk shrinks and turns grey.

"I think not," says Rhulan, as a strange black wolf with tusk like dorsal blades coming from its shoulders manifests and lunges at him, throwing them both off the side of the chess board.

-in the physical world the Hulk grows, turns green and grows a beard.

The bearded Hulk rises up.

"No," shouts Bruce Banner, "you don't know what you are doing lady, those hulks weren't intelligent but this one."

"Shut up," says this last Hulk as he backhands Bruce Banner off the side of the board.

"Okay," says the intelligent Hulk, "thanks, who ever you are, but I think you need to get out of my head. He grimaces and the area shakes and ripples. Rhulan can actually feel herself being expelled from this mind, as though the mind and body were one, sharing the same impossible strength."

"No!" comes a new voice, and a flash of light, appearing now is Dr. Strange.

"By the eye of Agamotto," he says I have seen all that has transpired here, "miss I do not know why you have attacked my friend and fellow Defender, or who sent you, but you have only caused more trouble. By the Vishanti I summon the will of the all seeing mind to return the Hulk's mind to its proper place!"

With a gesture a blue wave appears, the other two hulks appear on the board, as does Bruce Banner, the hulks become chess pieces while Banner remains. The bearded hulk however is not going down with out a fight, he struggles against the magic, even pushing it back.

"I am strongest!" he shouts, "I am smartest!", "I…AM….THE HULK! AAAAAHHH!"

With a mighty flex of mind and body the magic is pushed back, as is Dr. Strange. Rhulan observes and says, "Well boy, I was trying to exorcise this mind and keep only that man alive in here. I was going to restore his core. But if you want that original monster then so be it."

Rhulan waves her wrist and manifests a Katana with a blue blade engraved with strange symbols, "Sword of Dreams," she says, "Crafted into existence by the Dream Weaver herself, by thy blade no creation of the mind may survive."

She lunges at the bearded Hulk, he attempts to strike her, but her blade not only pierces his fist but makes it come apart in blue sparks.

Bruce Banner falls to his knees grabbing his head in anguish.

"No," shouts Dr. Strange, "each part is a piece of Banner's soul you can't…"

His words are too late as the Dream Blade pierces the heart of this avatar of the Hulk, and erases it from existence, vanishing like little blue petals in the wind.

Back in the physical world, Rhulan stands over the now unconscious body of Bruce Banner.

"huh," says Rhulan, "those must be some weird elastic in those pants to shrink with him after all that."

A portal appears and from it Dr. Strange, followed by The Silver Surfer arrive.

"You," says Dr. Strange, "you severed a piece of Dr. Banner's soul, there is no telling what damage you have caused."

She looks at him, her eyes showing not a lick of concern.

"Do you not care," says the Silver Surfer, "that you may have shortened a good man's life?"

"A good man?" says Rhulan, "I saw only a raging monster, that had I not been as strong as I am would have killed me with out remorse. Consider yourselves….and him…lucky that I let him keep his impudent tongue and foolish head….and what monsters remain inside it."

She begins to fly off.

"Stop," says Dr. Strange a yellow net of energy appearing above her.

"Who are you?" says Dr. Strange, "why did you attack the Hulk? What do you want here?"

"I…" says Rhulan while she waves her arm through the net, it vanishing, being sucked into her aura, something that surprises Dr. Strange, "have no reason to answer any questions from the friends of such a beast. However as per my status I will tell you, my name is Rhulan, I am known as the Sorceress by some, the Celestial Sorceress by others. As for your monster, it barked too loudly and bared its teeth at me; I do not tolerate such things, and a simple whap on its nose sent it into a blood frenzy. I suggest you keep that beast on a tighter leash…sorcerer."

With that Rhulan opens a portal and vanishes.

The Silver Surfer says, "A gateway between universes, what random act of the Multi-verse was this that would come to this one small blue world."


	6. Chapter 6: Rhulan vs The Justice League

Beyond yet another portal Rhulan stands on a cliff side facing the ocean. She opens and closes her hand, her eyes narrowed as she stares at her hand, "what is wrong me with?" she whispers, "am I so out of practice? That brute should not have given me so much trouble, no matter how strong he was physically. Was I in the Society of Sorcery so long?...How long was I there anyway?"

A giant Ankh of light appears and from it appears a strange man wearing a gold helmet and cape.

"Creature of chaos," it says in a deep echoing voice, "know that this world is protected by the Lords of Order."

He blasts a flat light at Rhulan, she holds out her hand and smiles as the blast is absorbed and drawn into her hand.

"Impossible," says the man, "no creature of chaos can with stand the power of Dr. Fate."

He unleashes another blast, this one also absorbed by Rhulan as she floats in the air.

"Just what I needed," says Rhulan a wicked gleam in her eyes, "a nice little ego boost by fighting some foolish overblown pompous sorcerer who has over studied in a single art form to the point of driving himself insane by it."

She floats towards Dr. Fate who raises a barrier. Rhulan flicks th baer who has over studied in a single art form to the poie barrier taking it down. Dr. Fate attempts another spell *whap* Rhulan backhands him sending him to the ground, before he can hit the ground however he opens another portal and vanishes.

The darkness of the Bat-cave is destroyed by the blast of un-earthly light, and then dark again save for the small light and console of the Bat computer.

"Dr. Fate?" says Bat-man rising from his work on investigating a crime spree, the images on the screen implying it could be The Riddler at work. The man known as Dr. Fate staggers a moment and falls over, his helmet rolling off.

"Zatarra?" says Bat-man to the man previously known as Dr. Fate, "what happened?"

"Nabu," says Zatarra, "where…"

"The helmet is here," says Bat-man, "its sitting nearby. How did this happen Zatarra? I thought Nabu only released his host when they died or a new host could be found?"

"Indeed," says Zatarra, "but…" he remembers the strange sorceress, "We fought someone…Nabu sensed her arrival on our world, her aura….was pure chaos…it drove Nabu to act immediately…but…"

"She won?" asks Bat-man, "and didn't kill you?"

"Yes, it would seem that way," says Zatarra, "however she couldn't be a servant of the chaotic ones…Nabu's magic had no effect…no…she absorbed it. The power of Dr. Fate was defenseless, and she…was strong."

Zatarra laughs and winces at the pain in his neck.

"Whiplash," says Bat-man.

Zatarra smiles, "Not my first time being back handed by a woman Bat-man, but wont a wont forget…"

He looks at the helmet, "However I think Nabu felt it too…beyond the body, I don't think he's ever experienced anything like it before…guess the old boy had an angry lover."

"Angry lover?" says Bat-man.

"She was no one he knew…" says Zatarra as he forces himself to sit up, "however Bat-man we need to inform the league…if she could do this to Dr. Fate…there's no telling how dangerous this sorceress of chaos is."

"With as many magical enemies we encounter," says Martian Man-hunter at the consoles of the Watch Tower's computer, "our instruments have been calibrated to lock on to any high level magical energies, it does help if we have the signature on file however."

"Of course," says Zatarra as he waves his hand over the computer chanting his words, "there from my…Dr. Fate's battle with her…there…" he points to the screen pointing at the outskirts of Metropolis, not far from where Dr. Fate had fought her.

"Pitiful," says Rhulan tossing aside a man known on this world as The Wizard, "illusion spells against one who is a master of all forms of sorcery including psychomancy…you are an amateur at best. I wander if that other guy in the helmet is off someplace trying to plan a better scheme of attack…" she smiles, "there is little more dangerous than a spell caster who has had time to prepare."

She flies off not caring about the fate of the unconscious super-villain in the park. Over the city she flies and lands on the side of a building.

"Are you a super-hero?" asks a girl from behind her.

Rhulan does a double take at the girl who *zipped* as Rhulan would put it behind her so fast she hadn't detected her, not to mention this petite blond is wearing a skin tight blue shirt with a red S on it, a short red cape, a red mini-skirt, and red boots.

"Well, well, well," says Rhulan with a smile, "aren't you a cute little thing, so tell me little S girl are you also a sorceress."

The girl floats in the air, "Seriously? You don't know who I am? Seriously?"

"Should I?" asks Rhulan, "well to be honest I am new around here…"

Rhulan's smile creeps out the girl, "Maybe you'd like to show a sight seer some of the sights, a little dinner, some dancing, the trendy spots…secluded spots…all the places the places to see…and…you fly around in a mini-skirt?"

The girl blushes, "Uh…I'm wearing a leotard under this…"

Rhulan dips her head around, "sure…if that's visible from the ground…sounds like a fun way to tease the locals, what ever floats your boat…well…my apologies I don't have your name."

"I'm Super-girl."

"Super," says Rhulan, "and your number?"

"Uh…" says Super-girl, "I…I'm not into…and besides we just met…and you left The Wizard just sitting in the park…I mean I know he's a super-villain and all but really when you take them down you're supposed to take them to the police. That's what my cousin says anyway, but sometimes he just ties them up in a fence or something…I assume he assumes the police will show up and you know…"

"Any who," says Rhulan hovering, "I was just starting to get bored of this place but you…"

A sudden flash of blue and red hits Rhulan with an *oomph* flying straight out of the city.

Super-girl just floats there confused and says, "Clark?"

In the air out of town Super-man has dragged Rhulan via is ramming tackle; which is now cut short as despite his intention to knock the wind out of her Rhulan knees him in the chin stopping him in his tracks followed by a double fisted strike to his head.

Rhulan backs up in the air glareing at the man in such a similar costume to the one called Super-girl, "Who the hell are you?" demands Rhulan, "you that Super-girl's boyfriend or something?

"I'm Super-man," says the man, "and no I am Super-girl's cousin, you really must not be from around like Dr. Fate said,"

"So," says Rhulan, "this is that fool's counterstrike huh? Summon a man-god? So be it…bring it on."

"I don't want to hurt you lady," says Super-man, "but,"

"You already tackled me," says Rhulan, "soooo, surprise Thunder Cannon!"

Super-man blocks her electric blast being knocked back a short distance,

"I warned you," says Super-man as he lunges at Rhulan, she blocks his punches with her "Spirit Shield" but even so she is being knocked back through the air further and further from the city and out along the sea line.

"Damn," thinks Rhulan, "again another insanely strong one,"

She surprises Super-man by suddenly dropping her shield and punching him the jaw.

"Right," says Super-man, "nearly forgot you were strong,"

"Maybe I should have kicked you in the nuts instead of the chin," says Rhulan.

"Such language," says Super-man.

"Seriously," says Rhulan imitating Super-girl tone and poise.

Super-man apparently does not find that funny as he blasts his eye beams at her. She surprises him again by catching the beams (in a way) by having them rotate around her outstretched fingers together flat palm. She raises her hand, the beams growing as they spin. She floats higher and aims her hand down at Super-man while saying, "Reversion."

The blast hits Super-man square in the chest knocking him into the ground. Super-man shakes it off and flies straight up at her at such speed that she is forced to *teleport* to avoid it. She appears quickly and rotates her arms together gathering a violet energy, "Mystic Blast!" she shouts. Super-man is hit, goes up, and comes down into the trees.

"Looks like the big guy needed our help after all," says a man behind her. As she turns a green energy blasts shoots her into the ground, splintering a few trees in the process.

She shakes her head as she raises herself from the crater muddying up the well

trimmed grass. She looks at her hands as green sparks dance between her fingers, "huhmmm,"

She looks up to see a man in a green uniform.

"Stay down and surrender," says the man, "as a none-native of this world its my duty as a member of the Justice League and the Green Lantern corps to inform you that you are trespassing on a protected world, an hostile actions,"

"You know," says Rhulan interrupting him, "with such a flawed form of energy, attacking someone like me, you may have wanted to make your first attack a bit more fatal. Try it again."

"Ma'am," says Green Lanter.

"Fire Sphere!" yells Rhulan as she tosses a red bubble like orb at Green Lantern, he puts up a shield that blocks the explosion.

Something else flies at her from nearby which she catches in the air, a baterang which explodes in her face.

In this moment Bat-man sees a blue aura around her, as the flames depart, not harming her at all.

"Toys can't harm me," says Rhulan.

"How about this!" shouts Green Lantern, Bat-man ducking out of the way. In a moment he realizes ducking to avoid the excess energy and debris from the blast was un-neccisary as Rhulan slices through the blast, her hand encased in a yellow glow. He hears her say in this moment, "Antithesis."

"Hal!" shouts Bat-man, but its too late as Rhulan aims her hand and yells out, "Antithesis!" a yellow beam blasting Green Lantern square in the chest.

He is caught in the air by Wonder-Woman who is accompanied by Captain Marvel and Red Tornado.

"Did we miss the party," says Wonder-Woman.

"I do not believe so," says Red Tornado, "if by party you mean the battle with our opponent. I do believe she is still right there."

Wonder-woman shakes her head and hands Green Lantern to Red Tornado.

"I'm okay," says Green Lantern as his aura charges back up and he floats, "just caught be by surprise is all."

"Enough!" screams Super-man, his costume torn up as he charges Rhulan, surprising her and Wonder-Woman who were about to fight.

He punches Rhulan with an upper-cut so strong it sends her into the air.

He flies up into the air after her, her head is tilted back. When she tilts it back to him her expression is one of pure hated, especially with the glowing red eyes, black tiger stripes on her face. Just as Super-man gets close she grabs the sides of his head, her hands turned into large black claws. Her cape has become shadowy wings and her aura red.

"Cataclysm of the Demon Lord," says Rhulan as a red energy and red bolts cascade over Super-man, causing agony through out his body.

"Leave him alone!" shouts Captain Marvel flying towards her.

She drops him and shrugs with a smile, her appearance returning to normal. Captain Marvel flies down to catch Super-man.

A whipping sound grabs her attention, she turns to see a golden lasso flying towards her. She *zips* out of the way, grabs the lasso and *zips* again; tying up Wonder-woman in her own lasso when she appears again.

"Well aren't you a gorgeous one," says Rhulan pressing her breasts against Wonder-Woman's back and leaning in to whisper in her ear, "what you say when this little battle is over you, me, and the petite blond go find a nice restaurant and see where the night leads us."

"woah" says Rhulan as Wonder-woman spins and faces her, except something is wrong. She notices right away her arm braces are missing, and Rhulan is holding them.

"Will you look at that," says Rhulan, "we just met and I'm already undressing you, a little too forword? Well you were trying to tie me up with rope before? Have to say I never tried that, but if that's your thing…"

"Stop talking and fight," says Wonder-woman.

Rhulan shrugs and drops the Arm Braces. Wonder Woman flies down to catch them.

"Its my turn," says Captain Marvel flying at her.

"Telekinetic Hold," says Rhulan, stopping him. Her demeaner changes as she looks at him. Her eyes narrow.

"You," she says, "this is a spell on you…you…" Her eyes glow blue, "you're just a child!"

"Dis-spell!" she says with a wave of her hand, turning Captain Marvel back into the boy named Billy Batson. As he starts to fall Rhulan flies down and catches him, she utters a sleep spell putting him under.

Wonder-Woman catches up but stops, as do Red Tornado and Green Lantern.

"Let him go!" yells Wonder-woman.

Rhulan ignores her and lands right in front of Bat-man, holding Billy Batson like a baby cradled in her arms and hands him to Bat-man while saying, "You people should be ashamed putting a child in such danger. I can not imagine such irresponsibility as allowing a kid even with such a powerful transformation to fight someone at my level."

She flies back into the air, smiles and *zips* appearing right in front of Green Lantern, grabs his wrist, nearly crushing it and pulls his ring off. She lets him drop and flies up. Red Lantern yet again has to catch Hal Jordan.

"Give that back," says Wonder-Woman as Rhulan *zips* around dodging her.

She examines the ring as she does so, "Now, now," says Rhulan, "I just want to get a good luck at this thing…a magic ring? Noooo, its some form of ultra-level advanced technology…huh…why anyone would make a minor reality distortion device that utilizes a single psychomantic wave form that could easily be countered like this is beyon….no…beneath me. Eh…"

She tosses the ring back at Wonder-woman who catches it surprised.

"I wouldn't put that piece of junk in my collection," says Rhulan, "besides I'm not a thief, and it's hardly a trophy to take an empowerment device from a human."

"What?" says Wonder-woman looking at the ring and back at Rhulan. A cyclone suddenly kicking up takes them both by surprise. Wonder-woman turns to see Red Tornado with bat-man tending to Super-man, Billy Batson, and Green Lantern. No this was caused by The Flash.

Rhulan *zips* down, "A knew combatant?"

She attempts to back hand him but he vanishes and appears behind her.

"I can sense you are just a human," she says, "altered perhaps but no stronger and no defenses, you would advised to surrender."

She *zips* and…she is not behind him like she intended, instead he is behind her and smiling. She *zips* again, and again, and again, and he does the same.

She frowns as he crosses his arms and smiles saying, "we can keep this up all day, that little trick of yours lady, I'm guessing its really short ranged, I'd say you can only go maybe fifty feet."

"Fast learner," says Rhulan, "but your strategy to distract me until one of the heavy hitters regains their strength or hits me when I'm focused on you won't work."

"Really?" says Flash just as Wonder-Woman is about to strike from behind, however there is a blue flash and Rhulan vanishes completely.

Wonder-Woman finds herself upside down for no reason and the Flash has a submarine sandwich in one hand and an upside down bowl on his head.

"Childish I know," says Rhulan, standing by a tree eating a sandwich "but don't worry I didn't do anything lewd during my thirty minute break…got a sandwich…well stole a sandwich…guess I can contradict myself about the whole thief thing…just not a professional one, got a sports drink…yeah stole that too. Not like I have money people…unless you tight wearing heroes have some cash I can borrow in your none-existent pockets, I'm good for it. She takes a bite of the sandwich.

"hey," says Flash as he moves a little woozy, "whyyyy, ddiiiid, yooouuu, boowwl…" he falls over and starts snoring. Wonder-Woman picks up the bowl and sees some weird writing inside it.

"A spell," says Wonder-woman.

"He'll wake up…eventually." says Rhulan, "just speed equals force…for me…not sure how he's avoiding that law of physics. But to hit him at his speed for me would probably have killed him."

Super-girl arrives and lands next to Super-man, "Cla…Kal'el are you alright?"

Super-man starts to come too, holding his head and shaking it.

"Shit," says Rhulan as Super-man takes off, even before Bat-man can finish the word, "Clark,"

A sonic boom erupts and the ground and air are rippled by a shockwave as Super-man collides with a spherical barrier around Rhulan, sparks flying from her hands into the wall of the shield. He punches again and again.

Rhulan's voice echoes, as though coming from the surface of the body and not her mouth, "This is the Perfect Barrier, even you can not get through it…unless you can hit hard enough to dislodge a continental shelf…you'd have to cause an extinction level event to get past my barrier and…."

Super-man continues punching, his teeth grinding and his eyes red, "and…" continues Rhulan, "I think he's too pissed too care…my attack…or he's just pissed."

Wonder Woman flies over, "Super-man," she says trying to grab his arm. He turns around surprised by the sudden touch and punches her, sending her flying into the ground.

"Oh my God," says Super-man suddenly realizing what happened, He flies down, "Diana I'm sorry, that witch must have done something, I though you were her…"

"It could just be they look a little similar," says Bat-man, "Super-man, you need to calm down."

"Yeah," says Super-girl, "cuz, you came out of no where and just wammed her. Then Hal shows up and says I should stay put, next thing I know Wonder-woman, Red Tornado, the Bat-plane, and Captain Marvel are flying over here. No way am I letting you…"

"She's dangerous," says Super-man, "she took down Dr. Fate and…"

"She's toying with us," says Bat-man, pointing at her, "look right now she's just standing there eating."

"I concur," says Red Tornado.

"Where were you," says Super-man, "Look at our friends here, Hal, Billy, and Wally,"

"They are alive," says Red Tornado, "through out the fight my analysis has concluded that this individual has restrained herself, not using lethal force. If she had used the power she used to incapacitate you she could have easily killed any one of us outright, save for perhaps Wonder-woman."

"Clark," says Bat-man, "she literally handed Captain Marvel to me and chided me for letting a child fight her."

Super-girl chimes in, "I though she was…a bit odd but nice."

"Perhaps I can conclude her motives," says Martian Man-hunter appearing out of no where right next to Rhulan, "hold still miss,"

"Wait!" says Rhulan but it's too late, the Martian Man-hunter falls over unconscious.

"See!" shouts Super-man.

Rhulan levitates the martian and sends him towards the others and drops him at Super-man feet.

She teleports and appears in front of super-man glaring at him right in the eyes, "for your information macho man in the red undies, I happen to have a psionic barrier that attacks psychic intruders automatically unless I lower it first. No time to do that with a psychic sneak attack…yeah he should be fine too after a nice long nap, provided he wasn't trying anything too hard…then you can expect brain damage."

"Leave my city," growls Super-man.

Rhulan looks over at Super-girl, "Sorry cutie another time perhaps, it seems I'm not welcome in this MAN's personal property that happens to be this city…guess he's the king…a weird world where king's dress like that…but, another time petite cutie."

She floats up and stops, reaches into her cape, the red lining turning black and pulls out a hexagonal amulet, "Yo, Kinky babe with the rope, if you and the blond cutie ever change your mind use this and give me a call."

She tosses the amulet down to Wonder-Woman.

"Till next time folks," says Rhulan as she opens a portal and vanishes.

-Later on the Watch Tower.

"What is wrong with you Clark?" says Super-girl, "you been exposed to Red Kryptonite or something?"

"Kara," says Super-man, "She was hitting on you…"

"So," says Kara, "and I was politely turning her down, I do have friends who are gay you know, hmph, who'd have thought you of all people would be a total homophobe."

"What no," says Super-man, "She also attacked Dr. Fate first, for all I knew she was trying to enchant you and…"

"To be fair," says Zattara in the hospital bed one over from where Super-man is being examined, "Nabu attacked her first, and it would seem after our fight she took down a super-villain in Metropolis."

"What?" says Super-man.

"Yeah," says Super-girl, "that's why *I* approached her, she took down that Wizard guy and just left him on the ground in the park. So I was like telling her how we do things and then she got kind of flirty and then you showed up and…"

"Thanks Kara," says Super-man, "I know the rest,"

"Really," says the Flash getting up from his bed, "even the parts were you were unconscious?"

"What about the parts where you were unconscious," says Wonder-woman turning the amulet around in her hand.

"We really should examine that," says Martian Man-hunt, still a bit woozy from his short lived coma.

"Agreed," says Bat-man, "even if its not a bomb…pretty sure someone like that wouldn't need one, it could still be some sort of spying apparatus."

"Did we win," says Green Lantern coming too,

"We're alive and she fled," says Super-man.

"I'd say took her leave," says Wonder-woman, "she seemed disgusted by the world of men."

Flash raises an eyebrow thinking, "What'd I miss?"

"At any rate," says Bat-man picking up the hexagonal amulet from a desk, "we really should get this too lab immediately."

-In the space between spaces.

Rhulan stands on a black stone viewing the Justice League through a dimensional window undetectable in their realm, "Heh, that was just the exercise I needed to get me back in my game."

She smiles, "too bad I couldn't manage to bed those two hotties, maybe next time."


	7. Chapter 7: Rhulan meets Godzilla

"Okaaaay" says Rhulan having just appeared through a dimensional portal on top of a sky scrapper, the city below in ruins and two impossibly huge creatures fighting.

The massive monsters are known here locally as Godzilla and King Ghidorah.

"Well," says Rhulan, "either this world grows its dragons rather…large, or these are some kind of cosmic entities…"

She sees the military on the streets below scrambling about.

"Perhaps I should find out what specifically is going on." She says to herself as she jumps over the side and floats down. military on the streets below scrambling about

King Ghidorah.

scrapper, the city below in ruins and two imposs

"Tell me," she says to a soldier,

"Madam," says the soldier not waiting for her to continue, "you need to evacuate…."

He looks her up and down and shakes his head whispering, "Otaku,"

"Hey," says the soldier to another soldier, "check out…"

"What," says the other soldier as the first turns to point behind him, however Rhulan is not there.

She flies towards the giant creatures, "Interesting," she says, "I sense intense energy coming from these two beasts."

Rhulan shrugs, "however they are clearly not what I seek,"

She looks around at the devastation, "Hmm, these creatures do not notice me, I could launch a spell…"

She flies back as Godzilla roars and unleashes a massive atomic blast causing King Ghidorah to shriek and unleash its gravity blasts.

Rhulan's eye twitches, "uh…well…I could try…"

The gargantuan creatures continue their assaults, neither really seeming to cause any real harm to the others. Local air craft and tanks arrive showering the two combatants in missiles, neither even taking notice.

"Well damn," says Rhulan with a *chuckle*, "any spell they'd even feel would end up taking this city out as well, huh…Demiurge of Ra….Cyclone of the Heavens…Geo-cataclysm…I could try a Cataclysm…but I'd have to lose control to fight on their levels…there is the Chaos Destroyer…not sure they'd even notice Mystic Destroyer or a smaller attack than overkill level ones…."

"woah!" yells Rhulan as a heat seeking missile flies past her.

The helicopter that fired it stop and the pilot does a double take before Rhulan forms a dense spherical barrier around herself, just as Godzilla's blast hits her shield and is dispersed, actually saving the helicopter in the process.

The helicopter pilot reports over the radio, "I'm seeing something strange up her…other than giant monsters."

"Return to base," comes the answer, "all units return to base, Mecha-G is on the way."

Rhulan flies up to the cloud layer and see a third titan arriving, a mechanical one.

"Okaaay," says Rhulan, "this is getting insane, but it looks like the locals have their own giant monster problem under control so…"

She opens a dimensional portal and vanishes.


	8. Chapter 8: Time Interlude

While the Fanfic saga is None-canon it takes place throughout various periods of Rhulan's life; your fantastical voyage now skips from the last story to the next by a period of time that for Rhulan would span many thousands of years and across many numerous adventures. (some can be found online such as "Curse of Yam-Dora, Eldritch Quest, and Chrono Sword") This period also includes the fiction press stories of (Thousand Year Sword: the First Ingredients) and (Thousand Year Sword: Dragon's Blood); keeping in mind that the fanfic saga is none-canon while those others are fully canonical.

After her many journeys through time and space Rhulan returns to the planet Aesperia; finding it enslaved by Insectoid Aliens. She would embark on a battle to free her people; and then conquer her people believing the world needs a strong hand to guide it (Letter from an Ancient Soldier) and (Village of Bakunawa) both take place during that conquest period for some elaboration. Rhulan would become the Empress of all of Aesperia, ruling it for over 800 years.

As far as the fanfic saga is concerned she would become bored periodically and journey out into the Multiverse, for laughs and other reasons.


	9. Chapter 9: Forbidden Blood (M-rated)

"Come my dear," says the count, in his thick Eastern European accent, his eyes flashing, hypnotically drawing Mina from her bed. Just as the count leans over about to bite into her neck a swirling light as tall as a door draws his attention disrupting the lecherous vampire from his act of violation.

From the portal Rhulan emerges, the portal quickly vanishing behind her, "oh," she says looking at the tuxedo clad, cape wearing, slicked back haired man, "so you are the source of the anomalous demonic energy on this world, yet again I have followed yet another red herring as it were."

The count looks at her and smiles, "You will also make a wonderful bride," he says, his voice practically dripping lust. His eyes flash as he says, "come to me my dear, become one with the children of the night."

Rhulan looks behind her and back at him, "is someone shining a flashlight in your face?" she asks, "oh…you're trying to hypnotize me. What an odd effect, not sure where the illumination is coming from."

Rhulan walks towards him.

"Yes," he says, "come to me,"

Rhulan looks at the girl behind him, just standing there awaiting orders from her dark suitor.

"Now," says the count, "you…bebwibbw!"

Rhulan, this woman the count has never seen before who arrived in a way he didn't imagine for some reason to question till just now, only in retrospect as she has done something no one has ever done; she has shoved her hand, save for her thumb, into his mouth, her thumb gripping under his jaw. He tries to bite down only to find her skin protected by something that numbs his teeth, and can see a blue light shining just out of sight of his eyes so close to his face. He tries to pull free finding himself unable to he feels surprise and confusion; as his undead mind can not feel fear.

"This close," says Rhulan, "I can plainly sense you are some sort of vampire, interesting your strength index isn't much higher than a common human. I imagine on this world a predator…or parasite…such as yourself must use tactics such as hypnosis to capture your prey. Oh yes, don't bother what ever weak magic you are attempting, I am absorbing the output faster than you can activate it."

The count is not sure the meaning of her words, but by context it is clear she means his ability to transform into a bat or mist in order to escape; as he has been trying to do so. His freedom from her grasp however soon follows; only in a way he could not imagine. Rhulan grips, twists, and rips off his jaw by yanking while she holds his body back by kneeing him in the gut as she pulls. The count unable to process a pain he has not felt ever, not even when alive; let alone while undead does not even notice when she grabs the top of his head and squeezes, crushing his skull and brain. Dracula's body falls to the ground, and turns to dust. Mina weaves around a bit as though awakening from a dream.

"Who are you?" she asks.

"Your savior," says Rhulan with a smile walking up to the shorter woman, "I just slaughtered some vampire that was attempting to feed on you."

"Vampire," says the high class woman, "why what ever…"

The door flies open, three men Mina recognizes as her suitors and the old man Van Helsing who had the night before told them the man called Count Dracula was a vampire.

"Where is Dracula?" says Van Helsing, "and who are you?"

"If you mean the vampire," says Rhulan, "his dust is painting your boots,"

"My God," says Van Helsing, "you slew Count Dracula? Who…"

Rhulan is standing next to Mina, her arm over the woman's shoulder, Mina just stands there not sure how to react. This woman is dressed in a manner she has never seen, more skin exposed than she has seen on anyone save herself when changing clothes, her memories returning to her from when under the count's spell a moment ago.

"You are a vampire!" yells Van Helsing pulling out a cross, "you slew the count to take over his territory, release the girl she is not for your un-natural lusts demon!"

Rhulan looks at Mina with a look that makes Mina blush from ear to ear. Rhulan looks at Van Helsing and at his cross, "Seriously?" asks Rhulan, "you mean to tell me your vampires in this world are really so piss weak that, that actually works against them?"

Rhulan smiles and pulls Mina closer to her, Mina's face practically smooshed against Rhulan's bosom.

"You know, come to think of it, I don't think I care for your word either…Teleport."

Rhulan and Mina vanish from sight.

"Go, quickly," says Van Helsing, "search the grounds, the demon can not have gone far. It may have put up a front, but surely the symbol of the lord has weakened it, forcing it to flee. If we are quick we may yet save the girl before she is lost to us."

Rhulan and Mina appear again out in the hedge maze.

Rhulan releases Mina from her inhumanly strong grasp.

Mina just stands there looking at Rhulan confused.

"You are free to go," says Rhulan, "the vampire is dead, I just needed some fresh air, after killing that monster it would be far to easy to give in to committing another kill against your would be rescuers and their insolent tone."

"You…" says Mina, "you are just letting me go?"

Mina takes a step towards Rhulan, "you do not intend to make me partake in some depravity? Are you not like the count?"

Rhulan raises her eyebrow, "I am not a vampire, I do not need hypnosis, nor do I crave your blood, your flesh perhaps…" Rhulan smiles, "indeed your silky untouched flesh is very tempting…I assume you are of legal age in this world…well those men's auras were practically screaming lust for you."

"My apologies," says Mina with a curtsey, "I do not mean to offend, it's just…I saw you…kill the count…and your actions, that look in your eye it is so much like…ahhh!"

Mina finds herself flung into the air and pushed up against a hedge, her dress hiked up around Rhulan's body. Mina by reflex wraps her legs around Rhulan's waist. If one were to look upon them they would think they were a couple engaging in intercourse using the hedge to prop up Mina; however being two women no such thing is occurring. Mina is taken by surprise, her deep breaths forcing her corseted bosoms to rise and fall heavily. She places her hands on Rhulan's shoulders to steady herself thinking while looking at Rhulan's face, "she is strong like a man, no strain at all holding me up; yet she is gorgeous."

Rhulan puts her hand behind Mina's back, her fingers caressing the small of her back sending shivers up Mina's spine; something she has never felt before, and enjoys immensely despite this being the first time; not kissing a woman, that she and some of her friends have done before; even here in this very hedge maze. Rhulan's red lips come to Mina's neck, alarming her a moment expecting a bite, instead the lips gently caress the flesh of her neck. Rhulan runs the tip of her tongue across the skin as she goes. Mina's body throbs by pure instinct, grinding her woman hood against Rhulan's as though trying to ride a none-existent phallus, convulsing in its futile search. Mina has kissed other girls in her time but never experienced anything like this.

Rhulan lifts Mina, shifting her in her strong arms. Mina finds her woman hood up against something long, moving, and searching, it takes her a moment to realize Rhulan has moved her left hand to intercept her thrusts, and wrestles with Mina's complex Victorian undergarments. Rhulan's right hand snaps the upper cords of Mina's corset, freeing the hold on her breasts. As Rhulan's fingers undoing the straps of her garters with the pressure from her palm against her mound brings unfamiliar rushes to her incredibly sensitive body, Rhulan takes advantage of the loosened bustier to move her lips from Mina's neck to the tops of her breasts, teasing the space above her cleavage as she moves her experienced lips and tongue, sucking, gently lapping, and teasing them as she lowers her head. Mina tightens her legs, as she looks up past Rhulan's dark blood like hair at the stars. Mina is confused only a moment, not knowing when during her new found ecstasy she was moved from the hedge to on her back on a bench.

Mina lets out a loud *gasp* as Rhulan suckles on her right breast, her left hand comes up and pinches her left tit; this combination of pleasure and pain bringing such a foreign sensation that Mina gasps and rapid breathing come out loud and heavy, her face flushing as she stares at the sky in disbelief at what is happening, yet not caring where or how anymore. She finds herself disappointed however as Rhulan releases her breasts from her machinations and stands, separating Mina's legs. Mina is about to sit up when Rhulan stoops down and flips up Mina's many layered dress vanishing from line of sight inside it. Mina is pulled slightly towards the edge of the bench by her legs, her woman hood suddenly exposed to a draft as Rhulan mercilessly rips her stockings and garments from her woman hood, not having been successful in untying these Victorian garments before. Mina is about to ask what she is doing, but the only thing to escape her throat is a loud *moan* as her body shivers from the sudden sensation of something long and smooth moving from the base of her vaginal opening past her labia, up the length, penetrating her slightly, and running slow, wide, and pressured softly against her clitoris. Between her loud breaths and now stammering of "oh god" , "oh god" , "oh god" , "yessss" her voice turning into an animalistic hiss and purr surprising her even as she gives in to what she imagines is but can't believe is a tongue. In her mind she can only imagine what is coming from this woman's mouth hidden beneath her dress is something inhumanly long, pointed, as though some monstrous alien phallus were pleasuring her.

Mina shakes and the sound escaping her can only be described as a *rattling purr*, as Rhulan places her upper lip over Mina's clitoris, sucking onto it as lower lip is spread against her woman hood and her tongue intrudes into her most intimate of openings. Pressing in, flexing in no way she could imagine a human tongue could pressing against the ceiling pressing her clitoris up while she is penetrated adding to the sensation as it gently pushes against Rhulan's teeth. Rhulan rubs her hands up Mina's inner thighs, caressing them gently with her palms leading to her inner more sensitive flesh. As her hands explore Mina's flesh her mouth and tongue gently pull back as though sucking on a delicate peach; as very well they are. A gentle cool breeze dances over Mina's exposed breasts stiffing them; between this sudden un-expected sensation, the care to her woman hood, and forbidden hands upon her body; Mina in her excitement screams out, "Yessss!" as her body spasms with such pleasure that she could never imagine before.

Rhulan exits from here and lays back on top her, kissing her in yet another new manner, her tongue dancing over her lips, past her teeth, and wrestling her own tongue coating it in an unfamiliar flavor. As Mina once again wraps her legs around this stranger she knew not before this encounter, as well as wrapping her arms around this woman laying on top her, her mind briefly realizes this salty yet sweet flavor is her own woman hood coated onto the lips and tongue of this woman; in a moment she fears it may be urine as the space between her legs is soaked.

Rhulan pulls her head back and laughs, "You have never orgasmed before? That is your bodily juices you are tasting and feeling, the warmth and wetness of your wanton body begging for more."

"More," purrs Mina, to which Rhulan gladly obliges returning to their embrace.

Mina's body sinks down now in the cushioning of her bed from the weight of Rhulan on top of her. Her legs move down trying their best to intertwine with Rhulan's own like wanton snakes, as though they too could mate with each other, the skin to skin contact might as well be.

"My clothes," says Mina softly feeling a bit exhausted and realizing that now she is wearing nothing but the dress and corset.

"I like the dress," says Rhulan as she moves her hand beneath it hiking it up.

Mina shakes and lets out a deep moan as Rhulan parts her pussy lips with the tips of her fingers. She spreads them wide and slips in one finger. She twists it around with out any trouble, back and forth before hooking her finger while dragging it out. Mina in a ditch effort at being lady like lifts her hand to her face and nearly bites her knuckle while gasping loudly and shivering all over. She has masturbated before, secretly and quietly and never had her own fingers moved so smoothly or so deeply, or touched her so precisely as this woman's have.

Rhulan climbs off her, standing at the foot of the bed, her reflection in the mirror behind her assuring Mina that this amazing woman is no vampire. Her mind clears slightly during this pause wandering how they got in her bedroom as she spreads her arms out across her bed, and what happened to the foot board which is strangely missing.

Her attention however is drawn to an impossible sight as Rhulan's cape vanishes, her own bustier and corset melt away like oil pouring up and collecting into a choker. Her pant legs vanish melting into what Mina can only view as panties as she has no other frame of reference. Rhulan's eyes change, the look in her eyes and smile on her face predatory, far more so than Dracula's had ever been. Rhulan climbs onto the bed, Mina can see she is still wearing her high heeled boots as she climbs over her, standing over her on her hands in knees looking at her with a wicked smile.

Rhulan leans down, her tit over Mina's face.

"Suck," orders Rhulan.

Mina leans up, as she does Rhulan grabs one of the large lacy pillows Mina has never seen before and places it behind her back to help support her, the bed in fact is much larger than before, the room different as well. Mina sucks on Rhulan's tit as she leans over her and supports her with her arm.

"Like a baby," whispers Rhulan with a giggle.

"Sorry," says Mina.

"Do not be ashamed," says Rhulan, "remember what you felt before, what brought you pleasure."

Mina darts her tongue over the tit and earns a surprised coo from Rhulan as she bites on it. It is not how Mina imagined it, her own body is so soft, yet this creature of lust teaching her so much over her is hard, her skin is warm yet like biting the tits of a statue; she imagines it may be what hard rubber is like only with a strangely pleasant salty taste. Mina's other hand does not know what to do with Rhulan's other breast. Rhulan like a teacher gently takes her right hand and guides it down to Rhulan's crotch, easily with-in reach in this position. The material of the panties is not like anything Mina imagined, it is not silk or leather, it is like touching a warm liquid yet moves like skin and is neither sticky or wet. Mina's moves her mouth from the right tit to the left one, as she repositions herself to be more comfortable while Rhulan guides her hand. Rhulan guides her fingers, her index and middle finger together on one side, her ring finger and pinkie on the other rubbing up and down her labia so her palm presses against her clit hidden beneath the clearly magical cloth.

As she rubs, Rhulan releases her hand, arches her back above her like a proud beast over her catch practically thrusting her tit down Mina's throat if that were possible. Mina's rubbing slows as something surprises her between Rhulan's legs, the material shifts as though becoming thinner and a shaft appears, getting in the way of her fingers.

Rhulan senses her hesitation and confusion, she reaches down and wraps Mina's hand around the shaft. Rhulan pushes down Mina's dress allowing her to see the odd black shaft.

"Are…" starts Mina.

"No," says Rhulan, "this is a dildo, made from my shadow cloth. However due to its magical nature I can feel it."

She rubs Mina's hand up and down the shaft.

"In your world," says Rhulan, "I imagine this is what you would be more accustomed to, and it would be such a waste to not take advantage of such a well lubricated pussy as yours my dear."

"I've never," stars Mina looking at the strange sight apprehensively, her hand however betraying her overflowing desire by stroking it.

Rhulan lowers herself,

"Wait," says Mina weakly, not really wanting Rhulan to wait, "I…I'm a virgin."

"Then it will be my honor," says Rhulan, "to be your first, do not worry I will be gentle, and your body is well prepared."

Mina gasps as Rhulan lowers her hips and penetrates Mina's virgin pussy. The pain is not as intense as she had expected, as she had been told it would be. It entered smoothly and found minimal resistance. The inner pressure is something she'd never expected, fingers and that inhuman tongue could not prepare her for the length and girth of this intrusion sliding into, back out of, and into again in a rocking fashion pressing down upon entry and pulling up on the return putting pressure on the roof of her pussy.

Not missing a stroke, Rhulan surprises Mina once again as while standing over her on her arms, Mina reaching up grasping at Rhulan's sides and back, Rhulan pulls Mina's left arm from her side and brings her hand to her mouth. Rhulan sucks on Mina index finger, something Mina never imagined could feel so sensual as she rubs her tongue along the underside of the finger. She does the same to the middle finger, and nearly throws her over the edge between all these new sensations as she caresses the space between these two fingers, even darting her tongue a bit over the palm and back out through this crevice. Rhulan still not missing a stroke on her never ejaculating, never deflating artificial penis guides Mina's hand down to her own pussy and gently lays it against her mound. Mina marvels as she rolls in this euphoric high of erotic bliss at how much she can feel her own mound rise and fall as Rhulan pulls most of the way out, leaving the head of the fake phallus inside her. Rhulan guides her hand down, her fingers on either side of the opening of the penetration and her lubricated by saliva skin between the underside of her knuckles over top of her own clit. Rhulan keeps her hand over top of Mina's, pushing her hand down gently here as Rhulan pushes back in. The clit is pushed up against and between the bones of Mina's knuckles sending shockwaves of unexpected bliss through out her body. Mina is becoming overcome by all this, she tries to lift her own hand, but Rhulan keeps her hand firmly in place, even trapping it there as she lowers her whole body, practically lying on top of the smaller woman. Mina's breasts are not lacking, but look to be almost being engulfed by Rhulan's as she presses their bodies together. Rhulan's own mound trapping Mina's hand in this odd position.

Mina huffs louder and louder, little shrill squeaks escaping her.

"Come on," says Rhulan practically breathing into her mouth as she rolls her hips forward, back, forward, back, it a steady rhythm.

Rhulan's eyes flash, and Mina's corset completely comes undone, Mina can now take a deep breath and begins to scream in absolute ecstasy, "OH GOD YES! YES! YES! YEAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Mina's pussy drenches the pink sheets of this massive bed. Mina actually passes out from the exhaustion. Rhulan leans up and places Mina's hand free, sure that if she were conscious she would feel that her hand had become a bit numb during its role as a sex toy. Rhulan gives a few more strokes just for the fun of making this sleeping beauty's body gush a few more, albeit unconscious mini-orgasms. Rhulan stands, the dildo melts away and her clothes return to normal, her breasts pushed back up into position even as the shadow cloth flows over and tightens on her body. Rhulan cups her own breasts, albeit more out of habit than need to make sure they are in the right positions in this bustier of magic.

Rhulan leans down and removes the corset.

"Not usually my thing," says Rhulan, "to make one with hold their orgasm through something like this, not able to breathe fully, but it seems to have worked for you to be forced to build up your primal roar like this."

Rhulan smiles as she tosses the now ruined corset into a nearby trash can that glows inside as the corset vanishes with in it. She looks out the window, hundreds of stories in the air overlooking a bustling city, car like vehicles fly through the air on their numerous errands.

"So soft," says Rhulan looking at the woman she has abducted from her own universe, "perhaps my new lover we shall have some real fun later."

-Earlier-

"Quickly," yells Van Helsing as all four men run from the building, "we must search the grounds, surely the demon has taken to some nearby secluded place. We must find Mina at once."

The men spread out, one of them approaching the Hedge maze hears moans and huffing, he runs inside to see the mysterious woman holding Mina against the hedge.

"Over here!" he yells, however as he turns back they vanish like ghosts, turning clear and vanishing all together.

Van Helsing is first there, "where are they?"

"They…vanished," says the man.

"Fool," says Van Helsing, "keep your ears open, listen, over there!"

The other two men arrive as well, but all four are only in time to see Mina lying on top of a stone bench with the woman known as Rhulan (albeit they don't know what her name is) standing over her. They are see through however; Rhulan actually looks at them and gives them a wicked smile before they vanish.

They continue their search by hear nothing more from the hedge maze.

Van Helsing holds up his finger for them to *shush and be still*, but they hear nothing.

"I swear I hear something in the distance, Mina's voice perhaps." says one of the men dressed like a hunter.

"Oooooh!" screams a maid running from the main house, "Doctor, Doctor come quick!"

"Is it Mina?" asks of the men.

"Yes sir," says the maid, "oh, I was going by her room, and oh my, oh my, I heard something, I peeked in, I…they were doing such sinful things."

"Quickly!" yells Van Helsing, "before this demon steals the girl's innocence!"

They run through the mansion.

They run into the room, just in time to see them vanish again.

"What kind of vampire can do this?" asks one of the men.

"The mirror," says Van Helsing.

"What?" asks one of the men.

"She had a reflection," says Van Helsing.

"I thought you said vampires don't have reflections?"

"They don't," says Van Helsing, "they also recoil at the sight of a cross."

He takes out his pipe, "I fear gentlemen Count Dracula was not slain by a rival vampire, but by another monster whose territory he was intruding on. Insult to injury this bride of Satan has claimed his prey."

"Mina is not someone's prey," says the well kept man grabbing Van Helsing's coat.

"Man handling me will not bring Mina back," says Van Helsing.

"Sorry," says the man releasing him, "how do we save her, and what was that thing?"

"I am afraid," says Van Helsing, "I do not know how to save her."

He takes a puff of his pipe, "I am afraid we have a succubus on our hands. They are a very different sort of demon, given special privileges on Earth even the devil is not afforded; such as immunity to holy symbols and prayers. I am sorry to say even the best hunters and slayers of demons would be at a loss on how to slay this creature, or even how to bring Mina back. Although…"

"Although what," asks the man.

"It is peculiar," says Van Helsing, "It is the Incubus, the male of the species that takes a woman's virtue to spread their infernal race, the succubus is said to lie down with a man to steal his…essence before she assumes the form of a man…the incubus to impregnate the maiden to spread their infernal race."

"Mina," says the man.

"Indeed," says Van Helsing, "I do not know how to track this demon, perhaps we may yet find Mina, but I fear her soul and body would be forever lost to us, just as though Count Dracula had claimed her, only worse as rather than simply being a newly risen vampire she would now be a brainwashed harbinger of a far worse demon devoted to protecting the infernal thing inside her."

"I do not believe," says the man, "Come men, we may yet find her, we had this witch on the run."

"Succubus," says Van Helsing not really expecting them to hear him as he bends down and inspects the dust of Count Dracula's body, "I spent decades tracking your kind vampire, to think another of your infernal ilk, a fellow pact maker with the devil would actually slay another of their own kind."

Naturally the hunter of the dark could not be more wrong, not a bad guess though given his frame of reference and the perceived event that took place. However the reality is far different, for in the morning Mina awakens in a strange bed in a strange room with the curtain drawn.

Rhulan stands at the end table pouring a white powder into a glass of water, the powder quickly dissolves leaving no trace of its presence.

"Pleasant sleep?" asks Rhulan of the woman in the bed, positively glowing from her experience, not to mention the feeling of her naked body against the silk sheets.

"Oh my," says Mina trying to cover up, "where…where are my clothes,"

"Destroyed," says Rhulan, "I shall have your new handmaids fetch you proper attire, here have a drink, no doubt you are dehydrated."

"De…" says Mina.

"I fancy word for very thirsty." says Rhulan.

"Yes," says Mina taking the glass and drinking it all down.

Rhulan smiles and reaches into a drawer taking out a white amulet on a necklace string.

"Mina," says Rhulan, "I do believe that is your name."

"Oh my God," says Mina as the memories of the night before flood into her mind, "what have I done?"

"Nothing to be ashamed of I assure you," says Rhulan, "although if you ever go home that hunter would no doubt kill you thinking you had laid with what he no doubt perceived as a monster; that being myself. Hard to think he'd believe otherwise given how easily I slew that vampire, and of course the manner in which I spirited you away. Although to be honest I had not intended as such; but your mind was projecting such as you may put them forbidden desires and wants that I simply could not resist myself; you are such a lovely thing after all."

"Yes," says Mina looking at the sheets, not fully accepting this reality, although the feel of the sheets against her skin is distracting her, its strangely more comfortable than she ever imagined they could be.

"Here," says Rhulan handing her the amulet.

"What…a gift?" asks Mina.

"Something like that," says Rhulan, "you no doubt have realized you are in a very different place, and that I am not human. You however are…for the time being, this…world has a bad habit of turning humans who come here into…bestial monsters to put it in ways you may understand."

"No," whispers Mina.

"Oh don't worry," says Rhulan, "This amulet prevents the bestial transformation, but you will need to wear it…well normally for a year, but given what I put in your drink only a week."

"A magic potion?" asks Mina, "like those novels, so are you a witch, and does this mean I can stay human in this enchanted land of yours."

"Quicker on the upkeep then I expected," says Rhulan, "but yes and no, you won't turn into some furry cat person or some other myriad of muta…creatures. But thanks to the potion you will become one of my race instead."

"I'll be a witch?" asks Mina confused.

Rhulan shrugs, "No, not unless you decide to pick up witch craft, personally I prefer to call myself a sorceress. But no, you may not even be able to learn magic. You will become an Aesperian."

Rhulan practically leaps on the bed, puts her arms around Mina drawing her in close and whispers in her ear, Rhulan's lips nearly touching the lobes, "you will become much stronger than a human, so much so you will need to be trained to walk with out leaping into the air and lift ten times as much as you could before. You will live longer, be healthier, have keener senses."

Rhulan pulls her close and drops the sheets she was holding over her breasts, exposing them. Rhulan gently holds Mina's earlobe between her lips and cups Mina's breasts her arm around her teasing the nipple, "With your stronger body, you can have many orgasms like you had last night with out passing out, and be strong enough that we can have much more fun, you will still be soft compared to someone like me, who is so much more than a normal Aesperian, but not so soft I need be so gentle as I was last night."

Mina blushing thinking, "that…was…gentle?"

Rhulan whispers in her ear, "I have such sights to show you my lover; both in this…enchanted world…and in the bedroom."


	10. Chapter 10: Hellraiser Revisited

In this world, there was a bloodline, the creators of the cubes, compelled to design and build them. As time went on only one such man of this cursed bloodline remained he built a space-station; which was in reality a massive hell cube that folded upon its self and shut the gates to the realm of the Cenobytes forever; as it rendered all other cubes in their universe inert.

How much time has passed relative to realities is hard to determine between universes; a swirling darkness, the unseen omnipresent master of the labyrinth reaches out across time and space unable to reach the one remaining cube directly. The swirling darkness appears on a mountain side, an old man of some south east Asian decent (at least in appearance) exits from the swirling darkness. Behind him is a jungle cast in night, the sounds of un-earthly beasts fill the air. Before him a large sliding door colored to match the mountain side.

The door slides open, activated by an unseen hand. Inside the man walks through darkness stopping in front of one of the many very high shelves. High up on the shelf, one of the many black cubes lights up, a screen activated by an unseen force, upon the screen the hell cube. The item materializes from the storage box and falls down to be caught by the man below, the storage cube goes dark again and the man exits the warehouse. Outside he vanishes in black mist

The man walks out from the backroom of a tiny bamboo hut in a busy crowded street of a south East Asian city.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," says the man with a thick, barely understandable as English accent, "see I told you, a rare…one of a kind, treasure."

He hands the item to a white couple, clearly American tourists. They pay the man and leave. He bows and smiles, his smile cut short by a black broad sword stabbing through his abdomen from behind, the blade flashing with red hourglass runes.

"You know," comes the voice of Rhulan as she fully appears from the darkness of the backroom, "I had completely forgotten about that stupid thing."

She leans in close and whispers in the man's ear, "I have no actual use for it, given what it is; can't even give it away as a gift; so I'll leave it be…however."

The sword blade begins to glow with a red fiery energy, "for something like you to steal from me is a capital offense."

She smiles as the distorted look of pain washes over the demon's distorting face; unable to let out a shriek or even fully transform to its true form before the red energy consumes and dissolves the demon into blackness and nothing. A black portal appears in Rhulan's hand, the sword drawing back into it.

"The only thing you are good for," she says, "you cursed blade is keeping me from getting my hands dirtied by the filthy bodies of such low class scum."

She vanishes back into the darkness.


	11. Chapter 11: Deadman Wonderland Alt-verse

My name is Ganta Igarashi, and I'm a prisoner. My crime? Being born different. I don't mean like different ethnicity or hair color or anything stupid like that; I was born with special powers so they locked me up; and I'm only fifteen. I didn't kill anybody, all I can do is shoot these energy balls from my hands, they're like fire works. One day in class at my middle school I was being picked on by a bully and they just…came to me; I shot him in the chest; he was pretty badly burned and had to go to the hospital. His family wanted to press charges but the government hauled me off to the Wonderland Institute.

They say it's a gated community just for people with powers; there are high class apartments, pools, game halls, and guards everywhere. They say the guards are there to protect us; but the truth is they are there to keep us inside; it's no village it's a prison. The director even told me so himself when I first arrived, all the publicity and anything we say to anyone on the outside is carefully scripted. After this the director showed me a video, at first I thought it was stupid, I mean everyone knows the story of how the Dark Breed came to be. But lets stop right there; I mean really what the fuck man, Dark Breed? I remember when I was little and they talked about making this Wonderland community village, an easy step forward to peaceful relations between normal people and Dark Breed, but seriously man; if they really wanted a peaceful coexistence why'd they choose a name like Dark Breed? What the fuck man, it makes since to me now though; they have no intention to eventually let us integrate back into society.

Anyways, that video, well it started off talking about the disaster; at the time the government covered it up saying it was a natural disaster; hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami going in different directions, and a massive earthquake; not to mention lightning bolts that blasted buildings apart and all sorts of weird things survivors say they saw including a rectangular tornado with a face and monsters. Eventually some private investigators looking into the sudden appearance of (Dark Breed), people with these strange and really evil looking powers; I mean even my energy balls are blood red. I mean, sorry, got off track again; well these investigators found out the center of the disaster was a secret particle accelerator outside of Tokyo; it was designed to try and tap into an infinite energy source between universes. It worked, but the power went out of control, the radiation effected the weather; they said the monster sightings were due to hallucinations it caused; but the radiation also mutated people into what the papers had already started to call The Dark Breed. I still can't believe in this day and age a name like that stuck; this isn't a fucking anime or manga or some shit man. That's just messed up.

The director then showed me something else, top secret footage, he told me he shows this to all the Dark Breed who come to the Wonderland Institute; its real name behind the locked gates; everyone here calls it that unless in front of a camera. He shows it to us because he knows we'll never be allowed to talk about it to outsiders, and we can't talk to the guards either. What he showed me was camera footage of the experiment that caused the disaster; they opened a portal to another dimension and something came through; it was hard to make out in the blurry footage but it looked like a woman with long hair and wearing a cape. You could see the machine doing something to her; the director explained it was an energy siphon, it was supposed to draw power from the wormhole to fill batteries, but this woman it looks like was caught by surprise and; well to me it looked like she was shooting lightning from her hands; the director says the scientists say it was something like dimensional ripple energy or something crazy like that; I don't really remember; it was something really complicated. But she overloaded the machines causing a meltdown and all that weird energy got into the atmosphere; the rest is history you know. He says they dubbed her The Witch. I asked what happened to her; the director just shrugged and said she went back through the portal according to the reports. That particle accelerator or what ever it was was ground zero, but also like the eye of a hurricane, so it was perfectly fine for the most part; the director said they even built the Wonderland Institute right on top of it.

But he just smiled and said none of that mattered, next thing I know I'm being asked what I call myself; I mean really they took away our names and had us make up new ones. I still can't believe I got away with Ganta Gun for my code name; I just wanted to make sure I could still be called Ganta; I mean seriously that's my name for crying out loud. I was shown around, it at first looked a lot like what they showed on television, apartments, state of the art virtual reality books, exercise equipment, pools, lots of nice people; but the main apartments; where they stuck me; underground was a whole other story. Down here were whole rooms; really weird rooms, where the really dangerous guys lived. I had no idea why they stayed there; with their powers they could easily overpower the guards, tanks, I saw some guys who looked like they could take on the defense force single handedly. There was this one guy I met, called himself Corpse Crow, he could stretch his body; it turned all splotchy green and black with these stone spikes all over it when he did; his hands even turned to stone claws when he extended them. I couldn't tell if that trench coat he wore was part of his body or actual clothes after seeing him stretch.

It wasn't all bad, I met a girl; her name; well she calls herself Iggy, not sure if that's her real name or what. She has these tentacle hair things; her hair is black, but it turns red and becomes like these razor sharp whips. But that's nothing, she's cute, and nice, and funny. Things were starting to go my way, just had to make sure to stay out of the way of the director; and those crazy doctors who like to experiment on us, even make us fight each other to test our abilities.

Things changed one day, after a few months there was an earthquake and all the power went down; next thing I know Corpse Crow is telling me now is my chance, Iggy and mine's chance to escape to live that life we wanted away from all this control, did we want our children to grow up in this concentration camp is how he put it; I'd never heard him talk like that; and next thing I know he's attacking me; just out of the blue. I dodged his claw arms; not sure how he missed me; well in retrospect I think he was aiming at the walls, including the elevator shaft, which me and Iggy jumped down; right guess I forgot aside from our special powers we "Dark Breed" are also physically a lot stronger than normal people; that helped justify segregating us saying even with out using our powers we could still accidentally hurt someone or in a fit of anger kill someone when we didn't mean it just because we are so much stronger than them.

Well we went down the elevator shaft, next thing you know there are guard robots after us, during a disaster we are supposed to report to the nearest guard station or our rooms; Iggy and I were overdue; luckily the room we ended up in going down was "The Playroom" a really large open room with tall rectangular pillars, not sure how tall, but the space under them is filled with those plastic balls you see in those kiddie ball pits. Well this room belongs to a young girl called Daisy Mist; she's scary powerful, I heard she has psychokinesis, you know moving things with her mind and reading thoughts, and something called Necrokinesis, not sure what that is but I guess its what allowed her to make this green mist around her that turned into these freaky snake things that attacked the robots making them rust and fall apart; she's one of those I can't believe is being kept here against her will. When we first showed up she thought we were there to play with her; I had heard scary stories about her ideas of playtime; we took the opportunity of her "playing" with the robots to flee out the unlocked doors. Thinking back I thought the doors were unlocked thanks to the power going out from the earthquake but the lights were on.

Iggy and I made our way through a bunker, the guards were no where to be seen in there, they were all outside yelling and shooting; I heard later that some terrorist Dark Breeds were attacking the Institute or something; I didn't care. We got into an armored car and fled. I couldn't believe we'd done it, we'd escaped. Hours passed and no one was following us, Iggy was falling asleep, the sun was setting; I knew we needed to ditch the armored truck as soon as possible. But now we have our whole lives ahead of us.

The scene fades to black as Ganta pulls the virtual reality reader away from his face, sitting back in his chair.

"You want to read it Iggy," he says as Iggy sits next to him on a different device in their forced futuristic looking apartment reading a touch screen tablet of a novel.

"No thanks," she says.

"You know," says Corpse Crow behind them, having entered their apartment yet again uninvited, "I've read your little story, still can't believe they let you publish all that."

"Well," says Ganta, "its not like anyone outside the institute will ever read it."

"True," says Corpse Crow, "but I can't believe you and Iggy came back here; given how you ended the story."

Ganta looks confused for a moment, "I didn't…write it…did I? Well you know, we figured we couldn't make it out there…get away…in an armored car….ahhhhh!"

"Ganta!" yells Iggy as Ganta falls to his knees grabbing his head.

"No! We didn't…Iggy, we escaped…it was…that woman."

Iggy screams as well grabbing the side of her head.

"Woah," says Corpse Crow, "what's going on here?"

"The woman," says Ganta calming down.

Iggy too calms down and gives Ganta a concerned look.

"You saw her too right?"

Iggy nods.

"Woah, what woman?" asks Corpse Crow.

"She," says Ganta, "was wearing this red leather outfit,"

"Tight red leather," says Iggy, "very shameless."

Corpse Crow just smiles and leans on a wall as Ganta continues, "She was also wearing this black cape, and had short white hair. I remember she flew down in front of the truck, her arms, the forearms split open, her blood flew out, turn black, and became these giant claws. She knocked the truck off the road, ripped it open and dragged us out. I remember her eyes glowing as she looked at us and…"

"She blocked your memories," says Corpse Crow, "made you write this story that hides most of what happened that day so when it is declassified someday there is official word terrorists attacked this place; and you came back. I'd stick to that story kid, otherwise Clover Cluster might come after you again."

"Who?" asks Ganta.

"That's who you described," says Corpse Crow, "how do you think they keep us all in line kid? They use those guys; especially that white haired band of mercenaries; they are uber-freaks to us freaks; they're the real guards, the guys with the guns are just for show…and *heh* actually are to keep outsiders out who try to get in. But the real big bad-asses are paid to keep the rest of us in line. Clover Cluster scares the shit out of most everyone; even Daisy Mist; but I think she's Clover's daughter or something…not really sure, I know she babies Daisy Mist. But *shrugs* I don't know, later."

Ganta and Iggy look at each other confused for a moment not sure about how to process this revelation.

"Sir," says Clover Cluster to the director who is playing with some toy, "Ganta Gun and Iggy Strand have recovered their memories sooner than expected,"

"So," says the director, "we just needed them out long enough to spread that delightful propaganda to the whole institute."

"Sir," says Clover Cluster, "On that note I have other news for you,"

"Really?" says the director sitting in his chair, child like curiosity in his eyes.

"Yes," says Clover Cluster putting a disc in a player, the big screen showing the pool and exercise rooms on the 14th floor of the apartment building.

"As you will see sir," she says as the video plays showing what she is saying, "shortly before the earthquake started a woman teleported into the pool room, no one thought anything of it at the time as we have several teleporters here in the insititute."

"Such lovely blood red hair," says the director, "and I just love her cosplay outfit; what do they call that? The dark sorceress look?"

"I wouldn't know sir," says Clover Cluster, "she walked around the pool, talked to a few of the inma…residents sir, and examined the exercise equipment. The resident known as Handsome Chap, as you can see here, started to talk to her; apparently inviting her to a game of air hockey before she started to look down as though looking directly at something. She teleported and then the earthquake began. As you know sir we have reports of Corpse Crow suddenly attacking Ganta Gun, he claims to have no memory of anything past passing him in the hall and when he was found lying unconscious in the hall; there is also the sudden attack by the robot guards; reports indicate they targeted only walls, computer terminals, and security gates. Then the guards began to hallucinate, claiming to see dragons and other monsters flying around."

"So," says the director losing interest and now playing with a top, "are you saying these things are related?"

"Sir," says Clover Cluster, "the energy signature detected by the sensors did not recognize her as a resident; however when ran through the database they did find a match; the catastrophe."

The director starts to look more interested.

"and," continues Clover Cluster, "when we ran a comparative analysis between this woman and The Witch…in the clear version of the security tapes; they came out as a match."

"Interesting," says the director, "so the progenitor of the Dark Breed has come back to check up on her children? Or perhaps…"

The director picks up a couple of dolls, "she was testing our her new toys, seeing what they could do."

"I…don't know sir," says Clover Cluster.

"That is all," says the director bluntly, "I want every last one of you on the look out for her. Who knows, maybe she can turn invisible and is spying on us right now."

"Sir?" says Clover Cluster, a hint of stress in her voice.

"You said teleport," says the director, "but no one saw her after she vanished right? But there was still an earthquake, and all that other stuff right? So maybe we have an invisible puppet master spying on us planning her next move."

"I…" says Clover Cluster, "will issue scanners to the guards if you wish."

"Yes do that," says the director, "now go away I want to play with my toys in peace."

"Yes sir," says Clover Cluster as she leaves.

Later that night Clover Cluster is looking at her reflection in a mirror in her private apartment; completely free of surveillance devices per her contract; and of course seeking out and destroying the ones she knew they planted anyway. The mirror turns dark and the woman with blood red hair and dark leather like clothes appears in the reflection surrounded by swirling purple mist.

"Two decades is all that has passed in their world since my foot step altered it so dramatically," says the woman, "hmm, so how long have you been there?"

Clover Cluster bows before the mirror on one knee, "My squad arrived fifteen years ago,"

"So," says the woman, "nearly to the time of when my self from so many centuries ago traveled through their world so briefly. A bit further back then I intended."

The woman in the mirror giggles a dark giggle, "Well so long as there is no overlap…anywho…so then my soldier report to me what has happened since my little…visit."

Clover Cluster's skin turns silver, and her ears become pointed as she raises up and says, "Yes my Empress…"


	12. Chapter 12: Rhulan vs Young Justice

Long ago Rhulan searched through the multi-verse for her brother, her method however was flawed, seeking out anomalous energies in the infinite multi-verse trying to stay close to the portal she had originally sensed him through in an attempt to narrow it down. Her first few encounters via this method lead her into conflicts with local beings, or rather she let herself be drawn into these conflicts. Before long she decided perhaps it would be best, especially to keep from being noticed by any higher level beings of those universes if she down played her involvment and focused on her search. However although she tried to keep from becoming a player in their universes sometimes her mere presence alone was enough to alter their histories. She would need a more direct, concentrated means to find her brother, using a far more stable gateway. For this reason she returned to Aesperia. However finding the world in ruins and being controlled by alien forces she remained on Aesperia and eventually united the world through her power becoming the Empress.

Now centuries later, having established her rule, and utilizing the technology of the Ark ship she has decided to use probes and sensors to search the multi-verse. However her curiosity gets the better of her as time goes on, and now she seeks to once more explore these universes for her own reasons.

Deep below the Metal Castle is a labyrinth of tunnels, these passages are not stone, mortar, brick, and the like but rather constructed of smooth plastic like walls, lights, and sliding doors with holographic screens. Even with Aesperia in a new age of technology this place would still seem futuristic. In one of the many labs in this place manned by man, machine, and homunculi, two scientists are working on a very top secret project in a secluded and massive room. One wall has a giant rectangular screen on it with two control panels.

The two men bow to Rhulan as she enters the lab, "Empress," they say in unison.

"Well," says Rhulan, "have you located it yet?"

"Empress," says one man activating a holographic screen before the massive screen showing overlapping bars, "the energy signature you provided has lead us to this alternate multi-verse; however we could not trace your specific reality anchor to the time and place you specified."

"Well," says Rhulan, "you only just began to unlock the ancient secrets of this technology, I did not expect specific conclusions so soon."

"My apologies," says the other scientist, "what we mean is that we…can't."

Rhulan raises an eyebrow alarming the men.

"I…I mean," says the scientist fearfully, "we have and haven't and can't. There is…"

He indicates the diagram, "there is a temporal anomaly affecting this multi-verse, most

of its time lines seem to overlap."

The other scientist pushes a few buttons bringing up one of the overlapping time lines with a green zone going back and forth into the past and future from a red zone.

"This red zone," says the first scientist, "seems to be the focus of most of these time lines, it inches forward or backward during each…reboot, as best I can describe it but always seems to remain with in a period of twenty too one hundred years, while also altering its past…and strangely…and I can't really understand this…its future…even though once it hits a certain point linearly with in this red zone it then starts over…"

"Retcon," whispers Rhulan.

"Empress?" asks one of the scientists.

She shakes her head, "I will assume then that my trace would be erased from their memories and history, even given my intention to travel to roughly the same point in time. Heh, guess worrying about overlapping myself is not a problem, however…"

She takes off her cape and drapes it over the control panel, its changes forming into a shadow shrinking or perhaps merging with the control panel, if nothing else it fuses enough that the control panel turns black.

"I wander," says Rhulan, "something vague returning to my memory, I left a trans-dimensional communication device in that universe. I wander if it would be erased during these temporal reboots or simply move positions."

Her hand glows purple as she waves it over the control panel. The holographic screen vanishes and a circular dimensional window opens in the massive screen as though someone had ripped it like a cloth. In the window the hexagonal device Rhulan had once upon a time given to the super-hero known as Wonder Woman is plain to see, sitting in a museum under glass on a pedestal.

"Well then," says Rhulan, "lets see what wanders await me this time."

As she heads for the portal she pulls her cape off the control panel in one swift movement as though it had simply been draped over it. She turns and says, "I will return shortly, after I've had my fun."

"Hold it lady!" yells the security guard, not an older man as one might expect, maybe in his mid forties.

The person however he is speaking too is Rhulan who at this late hour has appeared in the museum and flipped the glass lid off the hexagonal talisman, simply labeled [_Talisman, North American, unknown tribe_] It is covered in corn husks and strings hiding the real device inside. As the guard looks on she rips off these exterior decorations revealing the device hidden within.

As she turns the guard raises his gun, "I…I mean it lady, you just…"

She steps towards him, or rather in the direction of the exit.

*Bang!* in his stressed out state not to mention her appearance and the fact he saw her on camera appear through a portal the man believing her a super-villain has opened fire. He drops his gun and back off as he sees Rhulan drop the bullet from between her fingers onto the floor. With out a word Rhulan walks past the man who takes a deep gulp as she does so; backing up further afraid to even be touched by her cape.

As she steps outside there is a flash of black and green and a loud crash as she grabs the ankle of this attacker and flings him through the glass door into the museum. The man is on his feet and extends a bow staff.

"You're new," says the man, "sorry ma'am but here in Gotham we prefer if you visited the museums during normal hours. Oh and not take the exhibits."

"A comedian," says Rhulan, "child you would be well advised to not pursue this action."

"uh, yeah," says the man, he takes a quick swipe at Rhulan's hand holding the talisman, but finds an unseen force suddenly blowing him back. He stands his ground trying to fight against the unseen force as Rhulan opens her cape; the inner lining turning black and tosses the talisman inside.

The force is released but instead of falling forward the man leaps back. He stands ready, studying Rhulan, well aware a fight here could damage the exhibits and that this opponent is stronger than the typical Gotham City villain. As she steps outside and goes down the steps an arrow flies at her. She takes no action as it is aimed at the ground. The head releases a strange gas. Rhulan flips her wrist and a wind blows the gas away.

"Hold it," says a young blond woman in green leather aiming her bow at Rhulan.

"Stay sharp Artemis," says the young man coming out behind Rhulan, "she's tougher than she looks."

"Tough enough to use an explosive head?" asks Artemis, "Because that's what I have aimed at you."

"Go for it," says Rhulan, "wouldn't be the first time someone has tried to blow me up."

"No!" yells the man known as Nightwing by his comrades as Artemis releases her arrow saying, "She asked for it."

Rhulan grabs the arrow in mid-air. Nightwing leaps off the side of the stairs as the arrow explodes. A faint blue glow inside the explosion and Rhulan walks out of the smoke unphased.

"Children," says Rhulan, "you are both clearly human, unless one of the big hitters of your world shows up…I do believe one called himself Super-man, or Wonder Woman, you are severely outclassed."

"Oh yeah." says Super boy jumping down from an invisible vessel.

"Sorry we're late," says Miss Martian floating down from the cloaked bio-ship.

"Not that I'm complaining," says Nightwing, "but why are you here?"

"Watch tower picked up a boom tube," says Super-boy, "she's Apokalptian."

Rhulan raises an eyebrow, "So you think I'm a world ender from a…boom…tube?"

She smiles at Super-boy, "your world is truly a strange one…that symbol."

She crosses her arms and levitates just off the street, "so are you related to Super-man and Super-girl?"

"Whose Super-girl?" asks Super-boy.

Rhulan frowns, "Well…that's disappointing. But I take it Wonder Woman exists in this iteration of your timeline."

"Great," says Nightwing, "another time traveler, just what we need."

"We're wasting time," says Miss Martian as her eyes glow.

"Megan!" yells Superboy as Miss Martian starts to foam at the mouth and transforms into her true white Martian form and falls to the ground.

"What'd you do?!" screams Super-boy lunging at Rhulan.

She vanishes and appears in the air, actually standing on the bioship. Sparks fly from her body making the ship uncloak.

"Psychic backlash," says Rhulan, her voice broadcasting through their head pieces, "The other martian in the other iteration made the same mistake, although I do not believe he turned into a monster."

"She's no monster!" yells Super-boy leaping into the air.

Rhulan swings her hand throwing a purple energy fire ball. Super-boy strikes at it, the violet explosion throws him back to the ground smashing into the sidewalk. He staggers up, his hand burning.

"Stand down!" orders Nightwing, "we aren't prepared to fight someone like this, not here…we can't endanger civilians."

"but…Megan!"

"He is right." comes the deep voice of Dr. Fate as he appears, "this enemy is a creature of chaos."

"Oh goody," says Rhulan floating away from the bioship to float down the street from Dr. Fate, like two gun slingers from the old west.

"Be gone!" says Dr. Fate as he unleashes his golden blast.

Rhulan just stands there with her hand out and absorbs the blast.

"Impossible," says Dr. Fate.

Rhulan *zips*, appears right in front of Dr. Fate and back hands him.

Nightwing catches him, his helmet falling off.

*Raaah!* yells Super-boy as he leaps into the air after Rhulan.

"Thunder Cannon." She says as she unleashes the beam like electric blast, sending Super-boy smashing into the side of the bioship which spins, clipping the sides of a building.

Rhulan smiles and flies into the air, opening a sigil like portal, as she walks through it.

"Father." says Zatanna, "are…you're free?"

Zatarra the man who was the host of Nabu, the spirit that would change its host to the super-hero known as Dr. Fate is now free of Nabu, sitting in the watch tower infirmary.

"There will be time for reunions later," says Martian Man Hunter, "for now we need to assess what happened."

"I agree," says Zatarra, "Nabu was confused, he sensed chaos magic, but what he saw absorbed his magic somehow. Her blow…*heh* didn't just slap me, but hit Nabu directly. I think most of the force was aimed at him instead of me."

"I agree," says Martian Man Hunter, "considering the state Miss Martian and Super-boy are in."

"What?" asks Zatanna, "are they hurt,"

"Not by much," says Martian Man Hunter, "but enough. Red Tornado is running the museum security footage through the villain and hero database to see if anyone has encountered this woman before."

In the watch tower conference room, Super-Man, Bat-man, Wonder-Woman, The Flash, Martian Man Hunter, Zatarra, Captain Marvel, two Green Lanterns, Hawk Girl, Hawk Man, Plastic Man, and a few others are looking over the security footage.

"No one I know," says Wonder Woman.

"She may have been trying to goad a fight," says Hawk Girl, "find a worthy opponent she knew about."

"You thinking someone new?" asks Hal Jordan.

"Yeah," says Hawk Girl, "someone out to make a name for herself, there was boom tube activity just before she showed up right?"

"Yes," says Super-man, "given her powers I too think she is likely Apokaliptian."

"I don't believe so," says Bat-man, "the team reported the way she was talking implied she might be another time traveler."

He clicks a remote showing Impulse and Booster Gold, "we have had a few recently."

"Do we know her current whereabouts?" asks Jon (other Green Lantern).

Zatarra waves his hand over their global locator, "Dr. Fate's encounter was not with out gain, we can potentially locate her. However only when she uses her magic, however I can not promise anything; even Nabu did not sense her until the battle had already started."

The League looks at the map, as a red dot flashes on the screen.

"I'll go," says Super-man as he thinks, "I have to know how she knew about a super-girl?"


	13. Chapter 13: Rhulan vs Superman

As the Justice League assembles its members to meet at the Watch Tower to discuss the new villain that robbed the museum, defeated Super-boy, Miss Martian, Night Wing, Artemis, and Dr. Fate before vanishing, this very same individual is floating in a sitting yoga position in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

"Flow of mana of this place," says Rhulan, "show me Super-man's location in time and space."

She sees a vision of Super-man and the heroes gathered in the Watch Tower and senses his life energy high in orbit.

"I see," says Rhulan, "so you are in orbit above the planet, well then lets follow your essence-ial trail and see where you are normally on this planet."

She closes her eyes, "Mana of this Earth show me Super-man's place of birth."

Her vision shows the planet and a faint trail descending to it from the stars, "I see," says Rhulan as the vision descends to the Earth, "so this so called Super-man, king of men is himself alien to this world, hmm…"

The vision zooms in on a small town, she sees the Kent farm, "a quaint little farm…how amusing and…"

A blond girl comes down the stairs greeting the older couple. Rhulan smiles, "I see you, and yes this familiar life essence. So Super-girl does exist in this iteration, how curius she is not with the others. But there is time for that later."

The vision shifts and moves to the city of Metropolis outside the Daily Planet.

"Vision Traverse," says Rhulan standing and walking through her own vision and appearing before the doors of the Daily Planet.

She smiles as she walks inside. In the lobby she looks around and at the ceiling.

"Excuse me miss," says the receptionist, "you can't come in here with out an appointment."

Rhulan frowns, "Look at me human, do you not see the cape and the out of place attire?"

Rhulan floats in the air, "Now then, I have business to attend to."

Her body turns clear as she phases through the ceiling, passing through several floors, startling the employees. She does not stop till she reaches the reporter's room. She walks over to the simple little desk with a woman sitting behind the computer on one side of the double desk typing.

"So tell me," says Rhulan, "are you Super-man's lover young lady?"

"What?" says Lois Lane startled, "Who are you?"

"Excuse my manners," says Rhulan, "I am in a bit of a rush and am a bit surprised to discover that someone as physically strong as this Super-man would take something so frail and fragile as his lover…girl friend…wife perhaps."

"I…" says Lois Lane looking around at the questioning glances of her co-workers and the security that don't know what to do about this obvious meta-human that has barged into the Daily Planet.

"I don't know what you're talking about," says Lois.

"Come now," says Rhulan, "his life essence is practically dripping off of you and this area. But any who,"

She looks to the sky, and looks back at Lois with an evil gleam in her eye and a wicked smile, "If the heroes of this world think of me as a super-villain, perhaps it would be fun to play the part."

With a wave of her hand Rhulan has transported herself and Lois Lane back to the Sahara.

"Who are you?" asks Lois again.

Rhulan raises an eyebrow.

"I am a reporter," says Lois, "I need to know the name of the super-villain Super-man is going to take down when he rescues me."

Rhulan smiles and with a flip of her wrist summons a stone cage around Lois Lane, "I am Empress Rhulan, ruler of the world of Aesperia; and I am going to kick super-man in the nuts for cock blocking me two centuries ago in…well a past of life of his as it were, yet was still him as he is today."

"What? Lady you're crazy." says Lois.

"Maybe so," says Rhulan, "but boredom reaps such strange crops. Now then lets get your rescuer's attention shall we."

Rhulan chants something beneath her breath and makes a few odd gestures. A storm manifests in the air above them, the clouds encircling their location in an ominous manner.

In the watch tower a red dot appears on a screen and Super-man is out with barely a word and with out back up.

In the desert Lois Lane is shouting out something, Rhulan however has no patience for this reporter and her goading as her focus is on something else; faster than the eye can see she extends her arm as though in flex, and a red and blue blur tumbles through the sand behind her.

"Super-man I presume," says Rhulan, "not a way for a king to act, trying to zip by me to rescue the damsel in distress. Is it not customary on your world for warriors to address each other first, introduce themselves, and do a bit of dialoguing first?"

Super-man stands up, "Not when you have innocent people in danger."

"Danger?" says Rhulan smirking as she looks at the cage, "hardly, no she was bait to insure that you alone would show Super-man."

"What do you want?" asks Super-man.

"Well," says Rhulan pausing a moment, "to be honest….no…never mind, I'm going to play this straight."

She smiles at super-man, crosses her arms and floats, "I am Rhulan the Celestial Sorceress, Empress of the world of Aesperia!"

She points dramatically at Super-man, "and I am here to kick your ass and yours alone for blue…balling?...blue snatching…blue labia—ing…eh…what ever, any who, I am here because a past iteration of yourself crotch blocked me…yeah that sound good, and I suspect you were the reason that Wonder Woman or Super-girl never did call me…well that or your world retconned its self…really your world is very screwed up."

She now more talking to Lois than Super-man, "your universe seems controlled by these Lords of Order guys, Order can be more damaging than chaos to be honest, especially if its so unbalanced in their favor, like insisting no new major changes occur in order to maintain the status quo by overlapping the timeline to keep it set with in a certain set of potential events and developments. Heh, your universe is no doubt become so temporally heavy…that…huh,"

Rhulan looks thoughtful a moment, "well I'll be damned this could mean…"

"Spirit Shield!" Rhulan raises her barrier in time to absorb Super-man's punch, sliding her back slightly.

"So disgraceful," says Rhulan, "but oh well,"

"Mystic Bolt!" shouts Rhulan as she backhands a purple fire ball towards Super-man.

He vanishes, speeding and appears behind her, before he can grab her she *zips*, appears and back hands him. He is quick to shake it off as he punches her in the gut.

Rhulan takes a step back holding her abdomen, a grimace on her face and a look that would terrify anyone on her world, "bas…tard…*hheee*"

Super-man grabs her by the arms and flies up, pinning her arms to her side. Higher and higher they go, leaving the ground far behind. Rhulan wriggles her arms finding them effectively pinned, this man is stronger than she remembered; or rather had forgotten. The air becomes thinner as they rise.

"I see," says Rhulan, "either he intends to asphyxiate me or at the least make me pass out, so either he can hold his breathe or survive in outer space…survive in outer space…"

As the blackness of space appears Super-man is taken back by the smile on Rhulan's face, as well as by her body suddenly glowing blue. Tiny sparks come off her body dancing over super-man's fingers, her grimaces. In this moment Rhulan knocks his arms free, bolts of aether dancing from her striking him as she does so. As he staggers in the void knees him the gut, a large bolt of light flashing from her knee hitting him, she does a little twirl floating above him and kicks him from above on his back, another flash occurring as he flies downwards.

"Weird," thinks Rhulan, "I've never seen the Celestial Aura act offensively before."

As super-man flies down to earth, the flames of re-entry all around him, he starts to regain is composure, "what happened? Oh right falling to Earth."

He does a spin and flies off with a sonic boom to where Lois is. When he arrives he finds Dr. Fate waiting for him, Lois freed from the cage.

"This is a first," says Lois, "A different super-hero rescuing me before Super-man gets the chance to."

"Zatarra," thinks Super-man, "why'd you put the helmet back on?"

"Lois," says Super-man.

"You better save it," says Lois pointing up, "Your dance partner's back."

Rhulan is floating there above them, her arms crossed, her expression stern as though she were a displeased instructor as she looks between the two super-heroes.

"Pitiful display," says Rhulan, "the hero distracts me while his friend sneaks around to rescue the damsel in distress…"

She *spits*.

"Well, the best laid plans of mice, mortals, and gods as they say. So ready for round two?"

"Miss Lane," says Dr. Fate, "I will send you home now, this battlefield is far too dangerous for a mere mortal."

"Now wait a minute mr…"

"I…." Lois Lane in mid sentence finds herself transported from the Sahara back to Metropolis, "I'm a reporter and it's my duty to cover Super-man fighting this or any other super-villain, great Lois, what are you going to tell Perry now? Oh sorry sir, the super-villain who just strolled into the Daily Planet and kidnapped me, her? Yeah I have no idea what happened, one moment I'm locked in a cage and this woman claiming to be yet another space queen was fighting super-man and oh, I can't give you any details because Dr. Fate of all super-heroes swooped in and sent me home. Yeah…that makes headlines."

Back in the Sahara Super-man looks at Dr. Fate a moment, lament in his eyes for his friend Zattara has once more dawned the helmet of Nabu becoming host to the Lord of Order.

"Stand near me," says Dr. Fate as he makes a wave motion with his arms and summons a blinding light.

When it clears, everything is blue and still, save for a bit of aura around them…and around Rhulan who is standing on the ground now some distance away with her arms crossed watching them, studying them with predatory eyes.

"I have stopped time," says Dr. Fate, "time may only move again in the space around us, such is how we can continue to breathe. The vision I received by the messenger of the high way is correct; our enemy would move outside of time with us. However like any sorcerer her magic should now be weakened as time is its own dimension; go now Super-man, save the world."

Super-man flies at Rhulan, who *zips*, appearing just behind him. With a swing of her fist she strikes the man of steel in the back of his head surprising him as he had expected her strength to have also been a spell, now cut off. In this moment of sudden throbbing distracting him Super-man can not react fast enough to seeing Rhulan *zip* down to Dr. Fate and roundhouse kick him in his right side sending him tumbling through the sand kicking it up, it sticking in the air a moment later trapped outside of time as the external to time passenger rips through the landscape. This sorcerer supreme rights himself, expressionless, his right arm now hanging limp and broken at his side.

Super-man heard the cracking of bone, it still echoes in his heard as though slowing down and replaying, as Rhulan flies directly for Dr. Fate, her toes slicing through the sand as she levitates at a slight angle over the surface he tries to fly to the rescue, but finds himself slowing down, he struggles against it.

"No!" thinks Super-man his eyes opening wide, "Dr. Fate! His magic is holding me here with them, he must be weakening!"

In this moment, the last thing Super-man can see outside of time is Dr. Fate raising a barrier and Rhulan moving through it as easily as one can move through air and uppercutting Dr. Fate, his helmet flies off as the man beneath it follows. This is all Super-man saw before his vision changed.

"Do it now son of Krypton," comes a voice, Super-man once more can see outside of time, the sorceress Rhulan is holding Dr. Fate's helmet in her hand studying it, unconcerned with Super-man or the man lying at her feet, super-man is not fully freed from the hold on time, he can not hear any heartbeat, only his eyes are free. In his anger Super-man uses his heat vision, hitting Rhulan on her right arm. She drops the helmet and grabs her arm, the flesh burnt and boiling with blisters.

*sssss-eeerrr* growls Rhulan holding her arm and glaring at the man of steel and another who appears like a ghost beside him; a silver man wearing a green robe and cape.

"Be free now son of Krypton." says the man, his hand on Super-man's shoulder, "by the power of the presence, most high of all we must remove this vile evil from existence."

"There shall be no mercy," growls Rhulan as she lowers both her arms, "Celestial power streams forth from thee creature, angel, celestial, diety, for this affront on my person, you…shall….die!"

Super-man and the man known as the Spectre feel a quake of the very air and ground, and through their very beings; a strange vibration sending images of Rhulan off her body as though her very being were quaking into the air.

"Her arm," whispers Super-man noticing it has healed, as though it never happened.

Rhulan's eyes glow with blue and white fire, as though no eye balls were in her head, and her whole body filled with a mystic fire. As the tremors increase the air splinters with red cracks, the sky and ground follow suite. These cracks glow and emanate a light that seems to fade and erase everything around the cracks.

"No!" screams Spectre trying to lunge at Rhulan, only to stop and regain his composure halfway to her. Spectre raises his arms and announces, "Behold the hand!"

A white hole opens in the sky erasing even the cracks as a massive glowing hand lowers down towards Rhulan.

"The Presence," says Spectre, "shall remove this virus on our universe himself."

"What is going on?" ask Super-man, he is cut off by something that even frightens Spectre.

"She is mine!" comes a woman's voice that fills their very souls with dread as a massive red hole, much like the cracks appears and a slender black hand darker than black with fingers like blades comes down from the other end of the sky."

The finger tips of these two hands touch and everything turns white.

In the nothingness a woman's voice can be heard or known as there are no words to describe the sensation in nothingness from those with out forms, although Super-man recalls seeing Rhulan floating around sitting on nothing with her legs crossed and arms crossed with her eyes closed and an irritated expression upon her face. She crunches up her nose and lip like a child being scolded as the woman's face says, "My dear Rhulan, this multi-verse is not like your own. A Time Quake in my universes may shake loose the hold of a time spell and kill your opponents by sucking them into chaos; but in this damaged multi-verse you risked destabilizing the precarious hold of time and ending that timeline forcing it into another…reboot."

Rhulan shrugs, "what ever. I'll be more gentle then…pathedic instability, your new friend should fix his universe to prevent that."

*the voice giggles*, "Oh, it is my dear, it is. We have agreed simply that time will not fold around you when distorted like that. Simply put my dear, Time Quake shall no longer work, this Presence has cut off contact with that dimension to preserve its universe. Now I must help it contain the damage our clashing realities have caused."

A sunny day, the light shines in Super-man's eyes, people stand in the distance at Super-man, and Spectre, with an unconscious Dr. Fate…or rather Zattara at their feet with the helmet of Nabu next to him.

"Super-man?" comes a voice in his communicator, "what happened?"

"I don't know," says Super-man his finger to his ear, "Dr. Fate used some kind of time spell and the…Celestial Sorceress…that's what she called herself, did…something…it's a bit fuzzy. Next thing I know I'm here and so is Zattara."

"Zattara?" asks Red Tornado from the watchtower.

"Yeah," says Super-man, "I think she knocked the helmet off again."

After a pause he says, "and The Spectre is here too."

Super-man addresses Spectre, "What happened?"

"Impossibility," says Spectre, "The Presence…is above all…no equal…and yet…I felt…impossibility…another…the another….I….don't know how to describe it."

Spectre looks at Super-man, "Another omnipotence, of another multi-verse…this sorceress connected the worlds and…it almost ended us…I…have to go, I…do not understand."

"What is happening," asks Bat-man coming onto the line, "What is Spectre talking about."

"I…" says Super-man, "don't know."

"Connecting different…multi-verses…" says Bat-man, "I suppose that is as good an explanation as any for what we are seeing from your last position."

"Last," says Super-man looking around noticing now that he is standing in front of a mall somewhere hot, but not as hot as where he was, "Where am I now?"

"Sierra Vista, Arizona," says Bat-man.

Hal Jordon comes on the line, "but your last position is now under a massive force field holding in what looks to be a white explosion. What ever happened there it looks like something is inside fixing it,"

"Fixing?" asks Super-man.

"Yeah," says Wonder Woman appearing above Super-man coming down from her invisible jet, "the explosion is shrinking, I'll take Zattara."

"Of course," says Super-man looking around as Wonder Woman collects Dr. Fate as gingerly as she can.

She whispers, "I'll take him to the Watch Tower; but by the way where is that woman?"

"I don't know," says Super-man, "back in the Sahara maybe."

"Maybe she's fixing the explosion," offers Zattara starting to come too.

"Save your strength," says Super-man.

"Its okay," whispers Zattara weakly, "I'll…tell you later…but…she did something…Spectre did…something…and everything went white."

Not long after Super-man leaves after talking to a news team that was alerted when he showed up in a ball of white light.

Much later the sunsets, on the watch tower Zatanna begs her father to never put on the helmet again, Bat-man briefs the Young Justice team on what has happened, and the world watches in tense fear as the massive dome over half the Sahara slowly shrinks; no one knowing what to do; some pointing fingers at the Super-heroes, some at Super-man directly; others praising them for actions the Justice League knows they are not responsible for yet don't know if they should tell the world they had no control over the dome as it shrinks to nothing.

At this mall, this clearly old and deserted mall, the next day in the afternoon, a blue sigil appears below where super-man had been and Rhulan rises from the sigil.

"Okay," says Rhulan, "lets try this again."

A woman looking much like her with dark black curly hair, and wearing a long black dress appears her voice echoing not in sound but thought, ***Remember my dear, while you are here, chaos, netherworld, necro, death, shadow, and demonic powers will not work; the omnipotent of this multi-verse has cut off access to those elements from our multi-verse…the poor dear, completely caught off guard by the dangers of foreign magic in his fragile universe**.*

"If you're done," says Rhulan, "please leave me be mother-of death, dreams, and chaos."

Rhulan smiles at the woman.

The woman laughs in her throat and smiles before her whole form turns black, her eyes glowing blue and she vanishes.

"Any who," says Rhulan looking around, "where was I? Oh right, I was trying to have some fun before this whole game went ape shit crazy; but seeing as my playmates have all gone I think I'll call it a day as well."

With that Rhulan opens a portal and vanishes.


	14. Chapter 14: Rage Against the DC Universe

The throne can be a lonely place, and very boring, for an immortal it can be especially boring. For her, she has sat upon this throne for centuries, possibly literally. To eleviate her boredom she would wander; her own world at times; however she is far too well known as the god-queen of the entire world, so such travels are rarely anything but extravagant shows of power. No, she ventures to other worlds, has little adventures to eleviate her boredom.

On this day she travels to a rather mundane little world. There is nothing special about this world, sure it has its wars, history, gods, demons, hidden faerie folk, but really so just pretty much every variation of this little blue and brown marbel. She has chosen to appear here in a rare form; her actual form. She does appear in local attire, possessing some person or construct so as to limit her power as she is apt to do when "playing" on a world. No she is here as herself, black leather like boots, corset top, tight pants, and black cape with a red interior lining. She is Rhulan the sorceress, a name that means everything back home, but nothing here, except somehow to one man who waves her over. Across the thralls of teenagers, children, and adults dressed in all manner of costumes based on characters from TV shows, movies, anime, cartoons, and comic books. It is this last one that matters here, for it is a stand of old comics whose proprieter has waved her over.

The somewhat obese man smirks and says, "Oh yeah, that's it all right. I bet everyone thinks you're dressed as some generic sorceress chick, like using the convention as an excuse to larp am I right?"

His look is both oddly appreciative and disturbingly leery.

"Rhulan that Celestial Sorceress chick right?"

"What?" asks Rhulan, "how do you know that name?"

"I got all five issues she's in." says the man, "not really major issues, we got the one from the 1980 where she fought the Justice League, that was a three parter."

He puts out a comic, the woman in the book has wavier hair that is a much lighter shade of red, the costume is a dark brown, but the events…they are almost exactly what happened. Her flirting with Super-girl and Wonder Woman is missing among a few things, but its been so long she hardly remembers herself the exact details

"here's the second appearance," says the man, "an issue of the Defenders from Marvel Comics in 1992. Back when the Hulk was having all kinds of psychological issues."

In this one her hair is straight and clothese black, but her eyes are green and her bust is massive and waist a little too thin, not to mention her feet are always pointy and she's constantly flying like she's about to knee someone in the crotch.

"Weird," says the man, "that DC comics and Marvel comics would use the same character, even use the same name. But they were on better terms back then."

Somethins is amiss to Rhulan, the dates are backwards, she remembers fighting the green behemoth before the so called Justice League, but this is clearly a case of psionic reality overlap influencing so…

"Shame they stopped using her for almost twenty years,"

"Huh?" says Rhulan.

"Yeah," says the man, "I heard she was planned originally to be a major villain in this three companies cross-over, DC's Amithyst, Marvel's Thor, and even She-ra were all going to fight her as part of this cross-over, but it fell through. The guy who wrote the DC comic said something about her being his character, and the Marvel guy claimed she was his, that they weren't the same character, and neither would back down, so it all fell through."

She shuffles out another issue, "yeah, best part is both sides dropped her from future storylines and replaced her Morgan le fay, yeah, both companies used their version of a character they ripped off from King Arthur instead of this crazy powerful chick; which makes it really sad what they did to her twenty years later."

"When she fought the Justice League again," says Rhulan remembering what it would be.

"Yeah," says the man, "two retcons later and I guess someone at DC decided she existed again. First she popped up in Young Justice, man the fans were not happy about this character they thought was new totally jabbering the Young Justice team. Heh heh, then she's back right away in Superman and Justice League…man it was like a left over from the previous retcon, people were afraid they were about to do another retcon, but nope, they were just nerfing this old school villain. Weird though, because she never came back after they went through all the trouble of having the Presence…AKA the writers, decide that her better powers can't work anymore so they don't endanger the DC universe."

"This all happened," thinks Rhulna, "nerfed? As in reduced my power so as not to be a threat,"

"Its how it goes," says the man, "if someone is a real threat to like Superman…and Dr. Fate, and the Spectre, they have to nerf them, and bad, if they want to keep using them. I heard they were going to bring her back, have her be a villain in the new Amithyst book, and make her a lesbian, can you believe it, like she was going to be after Amithyst and Super-girl, and even Wonder Woman, to make them a harem or something. But some gay rights group got wind of it, felt the story was too demeaning and making lesbians look evil. So get this, instead of just scrapping that part of the story, they scrap the whole thing. The guy from Marvel got wind of it too and sued DC for reusing the character, it didn't go anywhere, but they permanently retired her after that."

Rhulan purchased the books, and many more about Superman and the Justice League, and these other heroes she once encountered in real life.

"Cross dimensional psionics," says Rhulan a few weeks later while in her private chambers, "do not explain how they could be anticipating events to come, the year differentials might, like events that did happen…but then they prepared for events that were likely to happen…but…no…the goddess…that Presence…what did that geek call it…the writers? No…."

She tosses the book down, "A Dream World….of course! The retcons, the way the popular heroes survive and keep coming back. It's not a universe that influences the books, if it were the stories would be similar but not so damned close. The Presence, the force that molds that universe must be the writers….somehow this universe and anything in it at the time must be influenced by the cross-dimensional mental influence of those writing its world. That is why the timeline was so…off. But that means…"

She eyes the books with a vicious stare that would make the bravest of generals in her army turn pale, "I….was influenced, they had plans for me, but as I moved outside their influence I could no longer be influenced so reality had to correct for that, make excuses for that. My actions while there…this is why I just left, why I fought with kid gloves….why even after returning I didn't do what I originally sought to do and instead fought these idiots like I did…"

She begins to glow with an un-earthly azure light, "I am Rhulan the Sorceress! I am the Empress of Aesperia! I have slayn thousands upon thousands, armies of robots, demons, monsters, aliens, I have punched out gods for crying out loud! I will NOT allow this injustice! NO mortal writers influence me!"

Upon her face came a most wicked smile, a dark smile, a look of pure evil geniuse flowed through her eyes, oh this plan, this perfect plan, the perfect revenge, for she knew in that instant the exact spells she needed.

"Puppet strings," whispers Rhulan, her voice cringing fate, "the puppet shall guide the hand….*she bursts into terrifying maniacal laughter*.

Stately Wayne manner, a practical landmark outside of Gotham City; tonight hosting a charity event for local orphans. The atmosphere is as one would expect from the wealthy lost out of time, pearl necklaces, suits, fancy jewelry, and all there for an art auction to raise money for orphans as well as basically being a party where all the proceeds go to charity. The scene is violently interrupted by Rhulan smashing through the ceiling like a comet, through the second floor and hovering above the party. She pays no heed to the screaming and frightened party guests or the man below demanding to know who she is. Instead she looks around, searching, and with a smile dives straight down through the floor, destroying wood and stone as she smashes through into a large cave. The light flicker a moment as she lands. There the man known as bat-man is surprised; as surprised as the Bat-man can display.

"Who…" Batman stops the woman is familiar, but in a vague fuzzy kind of way.

"Stop right there!" shouts Batman noticing her walk nonchalantly over to the vault.

He leaps over intending to grab her only for her to vanish an appear behind him, she grabs his cape and flings him away like a ragdoll. He rolls a moment, a moment long enough for Rhulan's hands to glow with an unearthly blue flame and melt through the locks on the vault as easily as a hot knife through butter. He throws a bat-a-rang, it stops in mid-air as Rhulan opens the vault and falls to the ground, her looking over her shoulder the only indication she did anything to cause that.

Batman runs over to the computer and types in the emergency Batcave lock down. Unfortunatly as fast as he did this Rhulan is faster, he turns around to see she *zipped* into and out of the vault, knowing exactly where to look somehow (a somehow to him, a cheated using comicbooks for her) to find a glowing green rock she now holds in her hand.

"Oblivion Summance," says Rhulan, summoning a blue and white sparkling cyclone around and vanishing.

(Later at the hall of Justice)

Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, and Red Tornado are gathered together before the monitor watching footage from the Wayne Manner's closed circuit cameras.

"She does seem vaguely familiar," says Superman, "but I can't put my finger on who she is."

"This new villain is now found in any of the world wide crime records," says Red Tornado.

"Perhaps," says Batman, "she isn't someone new, nor in the current crime records."

"You're thinking a later Unification Event fragment?" asks Wonder Woman.

"I believe so," says Batman, "given that we seem to have a vague recollection of this individual, despite no existing criminal record, and she clearly knew where she was going and where to find it."

"The kryptonite fragment," says Superman.

"Exactly," says Batman, "no one without memories of the Batcave or us could have known I keep a piece of kryptonite, let alone where to find it."

Superman puts his hand on the Hall of Justice computer, making a secret panel open and white orb ascend.

"Unification database, analyze this image."

"Image Analyzed," says a woman's voice, "Identity found, Rhulan the Celestial Sorceress, appeared in two previous timelines. Not affected by the unification event, an outsider to the DC universe."

"Marvel?" asks Wonder Woman.

"No," says the computer, "searching, only multiverse records are a legal snafu as the term goes, an indy character created in the 1950's by a feminisit magazine featuring a story about fighting the Justice League. This story was picked up and altered by the official release causing three different mental overlaps in the Unification Event, effectively fuzzing the memory to none-existent. Second Official appearance was in the next time line, nearly destroyed the DC universe by using external magical forces beyond the then fragile universe's temporal structure."

"I see," says Superman, "so…she was a villain against one of my past selves?"

"Data shows," says the computer, "she was an anti-hero…potentially, appearance was too short, due to legal problems with Marvel, the original feminist magazine, and an indy writer online who all believed they invented the character and could back up the claim, she was never used again despite plans. What little there is indicates some animosity between her and the following heroes; Superman, Dr. Fate, and The Spectre."

The monitor switches over to the image of Rhulan sitting upon a throne with a giant black with red glowing lines female golem on one side, and a white with black stripes tiger like cat-girl on the other side.

"I am Empress Rhulan, ruler of the world of Aesperia." she says,

"How did she override the Unification Computer?" starts Superman,

"Its more than that," says Red Tornado, "I am picking up the transmission as well, somehow it is being sent to all communication devices."

Aquaman bends over in pain, "in…my telepathy…Atlantian magic wave…a tsunami of imagery."

Batman just narrows his eyes.

"People of the Earth," continues Rhulan, "your world is nothing more than a fabrication created in a psychomantic pool, a well of thought in a pocket universe, governed not by higher powers, but the will of mere mortals."

"She knows," says Batman.

"I however am not part of your pathedic reality, and yet long ago when I came here my actions were manipulated, controlled, limited, by mere mortals all for the sake of your precious Mary Sue,"

Superman narrows his eyes, they glow red for a moment.

"Superman," she continues, "your man of steel, the term really should be a Superman, and not a Mary Sue, to think I have found psycholink books written about me that dare call me such a term. Do things always turn out for the best for me? Does everyone end up loving me regardless of what I do all because I apologize, or prove some assasine juvenile point about justice and kindness and all that rot? No! Or better yet, lets put it this way about your precious little hero, things change for him. Ask yourselves, what happens to his deadliest enemies? They become weaker, he suddenly gains without trying some new power, or something comes to him oh so conviently to teach him how to win, or those threats are locked away. The only consistent threat is a glowing rock, and even that gets swept away when it gets over used."

She pauses a moment, "I came to a past iteration of your world peacefully, and was attacked by your so called heroes, worst of all by Superman, you may call him your savior, I saw the bloodlust in his eyes. The anger at facing someone that wouldn't roll over for him, that there was no immediate solution for defeating…or he was a total homophobe because I was hitting on Supergirl…anywho…when I returned to your world, we fought again, heh…your pathedically weak universe nearly perished thanks to your Spectre and Dr. Fate forcing my hand, but that is the way of Psychopool world's, mere constructs of thought….but there in lies the problem, a moment later my power was limited, told by the very essence of your world I would no longer have access to those powers able to outright threaten your higher echelon of heroes…nerfed as they say…all because some human writers apparently couldn't think of a way around the issue of Superman facing magic whose rules exist outside of your universe's confines. For the sake of my honor and dignity as the Empress and Goddess of Aesperia, I challenge Superman to a duel, to be held three days from now on top of the Daily Planet, at this exact time."

The transmission ends.

"That was more a rant than a threat," says Wonderwoman, "but she does sound pissed. Honor can be a strong motivator when you feel it's been slighted."

"I'm going," says Superman, "She's too dangerous not to be stopped, since the Unification Event those limitors can't still be in place,"

"Our Universe isn't so fragile anymore," says Batman, "Marvel, Mortal Kombat, Top Cow, Capcom, and many others from those and more worlds have come and challenged us since our respective universes have had their own Unification Events. Magic and cosmic forces that should have destroyed the fabric of our universe, didn't."

"That's not the point," says Superman, "she doesn't think of our world like those others do, we're fake to her. What's to stop her from coming after all of us, just to feel better about herself? Or to think its all just a game that will be undone by the next retcon, for some writer to call it a "What if" story or a dream we had. No, she has to be stopped now; and only I can do it."

"You know it's a trap Clark," says Batman.

"I know," says Superman, "but she doesn't know that I am every Superman combined."

(three days later)

The show down begins, before the Daily Planet Sign stands Superman and across the way Rhulan.

"Surrender now and…" starts Superman.

"Just shut up and die," says Rhulan summoning a massive green sigil in front of her, the energy of which brings superman to his knees.

"Impossible," caughs superman…how…I scanned…for kryptonite..

"Crystal Barrage!" shouts Rhulan.

Time is slowed down for superman as he sees what Rhulan was spending her time creating, crafting a new hybrid spell, combining crystal barrage with the energy of kryptonite, as the green shards fly straight for his face, just before they can stab him right in his mug, a green barrier forms in front of him, the crystals bouncing off of it.

Hal Jordan of the Green Lantern corp has come to Superman's rescue.

"Hal," says Superman righting himself, the barrier blocking the radiation.

"No!" screams Rhulan, the very air shacking with her rage, her barrier grows larger and green cracks appear around it, ripping into the very fabric of reality, Hal Jordan is now forced to block with all his ring's might as the crystals fly out at nearly the speed of light, shredding into the building, and around the barrier forcing Hal Jordan to make a force bubble as the crystals now try and seek out their target, some even partially piercing the bubble, just enough for their radiation to keep superman from acting.

"Damn you!" yells Rhulan, her eyes turning solid green with electric arks shooting from them, "You can't do that! Never before could your barrier block my magic! Its not in its nature! Gods damned lazy writers! You will not deny me! I will not be limited! I will not be held back by the figmentations of mere humans! Aaahhhhh!"

She glows like an aurora, the very air around her crackles, rips in reality form in the sky, glowing red. Hal Jordan's super ring barrier can not hold against the assault as two shards pierce through, one stabs Superman in the shoulder, the other in his gut, just as the barrier is about to fully fail, something miraculous happens. A portal forms behind Rhulan and black tendrils shoot out, one wraps around her waist, another her chest, and one around her throat. This last one makes her lose her concentration dropping her spells; however it also fully pisses her off as she bares her teeth and grabs at the throat choking tendril, her cape even forms into thorny tendrils of its own and tries to wrestle with those wrapping around her creating a visual mess like black cables and spaghetti. She is yanked through the portal, her last visual of the DC universe superman lying on the ground bleeding with kryptonite crystals stabbed into him.

"NOOOOO!" screams Rhulan as she tries to kick and punch, practically foaming at the mouth like a wild beast as her eyes flash all manner of different colors, a rainbow of crazy and arcane powers fly off her power in all directions, raw destructive, reality shredding energies. She is held tight however, not by tentacles, or tendrils, but rather by a warm hug. A pair of arms clad in black, or made of darkness themselves, holding her tight against a shapely body with large pale breasts pressed into Rhulan's back wearing a black dress sparkled with starlight. This woman with a pale face resembling Rhulan's own yet with eyes of pure blue flames and long black hair waving of its own accord that seems to become part of her formal gown as they meet and flow off into an unseeable ether behind them while infront of them is a place of waving blue calmness.

"No!" screams Rhulan, "I am Rhulan the Sorceress! Tens of thousands of years old! I have slayn Elder Gods, conquered worlds, destroyed and created entire civilizations! I am a goddess! I will not be bested by paper dolls invented by mere humans! Raahhh!"

She continues to kick and swing about wildly, ranting as she does, her released energy means nothing to the one holding her, although such power would desomate just about anything else known to man or god.

***Are you done**?* asks the one holding her as Rhulan calms down, and pants.

***Got that out of your system**?*

"Uh…heh…heh…heh.." huffs Rhulan.

She stops and looks behind her, "Let me go."

***Very well*** says the entity releasing her.

"I…got him," says Rhulan smiling.

***Yes*** says the entity, ***you killed Superman, the Unified Superman, symbol of Justice and force for good across the multiverse***

"Unified?" asks Rhulan.

***The real Superman*** says the entity ***the one true one, the weight of the fake timelines collapsed into themselves from all the variants both true and invented to become true, collected into that world. This was truly an act of ultimate evil***

"I am not evil," says Rhulan, "I simply am…we've discussed this before."

***The balance of the multi-verse*** says the entity ***has come undone, as the one who killed such a high end…piece on the side of good, you must likewise destroy an equal amount of power on the side of evil***

"and I guess those eldritch horrors from back in the day don't count?" asks Rhulan.

***those are beyond good and evil…but you have fallen from that lofty position and must right the balance in the well of figmentations.***

Rhulan shrugs, "fine, I don't care honestly. Just had to get that crap out of my subconscious anyway, so fine, I'll pay your toll for killing that paper doll by killing more mortal inventions."

***Very well*** says the entity, ***your first target will be a monster called Chucky***

(and so it was that Rhulan's horror battle commenced anew as penance for killing the man of steel, little did she know however that things were not as they seemed)

Back in the DC Unified Universe, in the Watch Tower, that space station that floats in orbit above Earth, in a hospital bed, Superman is hooked up to a machine, bandages across his chest and gut, breathing through a machine as Hal Jordan, Martian Manhunter, Wonderwoman, Supergirl, and Batman look on.

"He is stabilized, he is however in a coma." says the Star Labs doctor, "We got all the kryptonite out of him, we are still analyzing it however, we've never encountered magic kryptonite before, no telling its effects on Kryptonian physiology."


	15. Chapter 15: Rhulan vs Chucky

The sky is darkened by rolling clouds that circle like vultures surveying death below.

"We have to hurry," says a young man pulling his girlfriend behind them as they head towards the hills the clouds are circling above.

In the distance un-natural words can be heard, an incantation from a the voice of a man forced through plastic lips.

"I beg of…" the small plastic man's words are cut short, "what the fuck?"

The young woman stops and points at the sky, "look!"

The clouds have suddenly sped around a central red dot, and circle into the center like the event horizon of a black hole, speeding up as they are sucked into the center turning red as they are drawn in.

"Pitiful," says Rhulan as she flies straight down behind the living doll leaning over the unconscious body of a young boy, the scene telling a tale of the doll knocking the kid out, dragging him up here, and performing some ritual.

"Who…the…fuck.." says the doll

*poom!*

Rhulan kicks the doll sending it flying into the air like a rocket.

*Zip*

She appears ahead of its trajectory, she can heard it shouting out, "biiiiiiiii…"

"Chaos Aura." says Rhulan summoning up a red firey aura around her body.

The doll pulls out a knife upon seeing where he is heading, a look of utter madness twisting up his plastic doll face.

*fwoosh*

The doll is instantly vaporized into blackness and nothingness instantly after upon contact with the Chaos Aura.

Rhulan narrows her eyes as her aura vanishes.

*zip*

She appears above the top of the hill as the young man and woman arrive.

"Where's Chucky?" asks the young man.

"Is that the name of that pitiful Living Marionette?" asks Rhulan.

Without waiting for a response she opens a portal and vanishes.

In the space between worlds a woman who could be Rhulan's own reflection, save for having long black wavy hair and wearing a long black starlight speckled dress awaits her there.

"There," says Rhulan, "I have killed your villain, now open the path again."

*I think not* projects the fathomless entity *For the damage you have caused, although inadvertently, recompense is required. For that you must slay twelve such evil entities.*

"Twelve?" says Rhulan, "why does that sound familiar? Any who, fine, if it gets you off my back."

The fathomless being projected in a variant of her likeness smiles, or at least it projects a smile upon a nonexistent face and nods its illusionary head before vanishing; leaving Rhulan to return to her palace.

Rhulan shakes her head and mutters, "damn it, I need a bath…and an orgy."


	16. Chapter 16: Rhulan vs Lucifer

It is a plain field, nothing special, like any old field in Middle America; however this field holds a secret. As Rhulan's boots sink into the soft earth she trots over the ground surveying the spot of earth before her. Holding out her hand she summons from a black portal a most unusual blade. A sword with a black double edged blade, a guard resembling a pair of black feathered wings, and a hilt of black wrapped leather with a ring base. Rhulan points the blade at the ground, a black light strikes the earth opening up a vortex within the ground. A man is thrown up out of the earth which closes beneath him. The man's skin is crackling.

The man cracks his neck and smiles, "so, who do I…"

He moves around a bit comically tilting his head and squinting his eyes, "Now…who and what are you? Not something my dad came up with that's for sure."

"I am your death," says Rhulan, "As I understand it you are the Lucifer…the devil of this world. *shrugs*, honestly I don't care, what I care about is getting a certain high and mightier than your pitiful one universe making god's attention off of me. Which means unfortunately for you, I am going to kill you."

"Really?" says Lucifer, "because tougher bitches than you have tried, and I'm still here."

He draws out a small pillar like weapon.

"What is that?" says Rhulan with a tone of disappointment.

"An Arch-Angel's sword," says Lucifer, delight in and mischief in his voice and eye.

"Pitiful," says Rhulan, "This weapon in my hand is a Seraphim Blade, where I am from this is the weapon used by the Seraphim, a class of angels…at least where I am from above the Arch-Angels. In the right hands this sword could cleave the Earth's moon in half."

She smiles, "but to be honest, you look boring, I can see the you inside that meat puppet. Why don't you step out of that limiter and make this more interesting."

"Would if I could," says Lucifer, "so you going to fight me or what? You know I could use…"

Rhulan tosses the Seraphim Sword to Lucifer. He catches it as he drops his weapon and grimaces as it vibrates in his hand, feeling the raw power trying to rip free of his grasp down to his true self.

"Woah," says Lucifer.

"hmm," laughs Rhulan close mouthed, "That should make you more interesting to fight then. However I still need a weapon."

She opens a portal and a weapon emerges that Lucifer can't take his eyes off of. This is a Katana whose hilt is so black as to not be visible as anything but a hole in time and space. The blade shimmers as redness, sparking with an energy foreign to all his reality. The very space around is blackens and burns, a human eye would only see the red glowing blade and blackness around with little red electric sparks; but to a thing like Lucifer whose nature is multi-dimensional this is a horrifying thing, its very presence ripping through each and every dimension of this reality, any motion it makes permanently scarring the time and space and sub-space and hyper-space and dark space and ghost space and all spaces even those not spaces. Far away a little man standing behind a booth signing his latest book narrows his eyes and looks in the general direction of the battle and grimaces.

"Something wrong sir," says an assistant by his side.

"No," says the man, "Just a little something that should pass."

Back at the battle Lucifer says, "What…the fuck is that?"

"This," says Rhulan grabbing the hilt, her hand turning into a black claw whose darkness deforms the proportions of her arm, extending up to her elbow, "Is the Thousand Year Sword. Made by crushing the soul of an Old One into a singularity forged as a blade in the depths of the first hell to ever emerge in the omniverse by beings whose very nature can snuff out galaxies as sustenance."

She shrugs, "this is one of their bullets basically, held in a hilt forged out of the fabric of the betweenverse in which elder gods dwell…."

"Any who," she says pointing the blade at him leaving behind a black stain in the path of the blade, "Engarde shiny snake man."

He charges at her, as he swings the Seraphim Sword towards her, she doesn't move, the blade along with Lucifer's arm flies away from her and embeds its self into the very air, cracking space as though it were stone. Lucifer's arms and part of his true self attached to it are being dissolved and drawn into the blade.

Lucifer is caught off guard, the Thousand Year Sword is now stabbed through his chest, Rhulan however does not appear to have moved, instead somehow Lucifer seems to have lunged into her sword. As he watches the his arm being apparently eaten by the Seraphim sword, parts of his body slowly bubble and float apart like pixels and polygons in a computer program glitching and being deleted. He smiles as realization comes from what he sees, through his eyes he sees subtle lines in space distorted, depth and time distorted.

"The sword," he says with his final breath, "one swing…and you closed space and time with out my being able to see from where I has….*cough*…*hehk*….you'll make a great king of Hell."

Lucifer's body and spirit vanish. Rhulan draws the Thousand Year Sword back, and holding out her hand summons the Seraphim Sword back to her which is drawn back into a portal as well.

"That was interesting," says a small man appearing from a puff of smoke, "so just bored or something?"

"More like a hit list to clear my karma…really just to get the mother of chaos off my ass for things beyond your concern."

"Hm," says the small man, "Well, usually I don't interfere or anything but I really need to fix that damage you did."

"My apologies," says Rhulan, "but given the true nature beneath the façade that thing was giving with its meat puppet I felt this was the most expedient way to destroy that thing with out risking the destruction of your planet. It didn't seem like something that would focus on one spot and just shoot its power off like a firebomb."

"or roast my own ass for that matter," she thinks to herself.

The man *shrugs*, "Sure, so you sticking around?"

"No," says Rhulan, "From what I can sense your world is too limited to be of interest to me. You have some rather tight leashes on your magic code wrapped around this world. Sure I could cause some chaos by tugging on those strings, might have in my younger days, but I have more important matters to attend to and my own projects to see to. So don't worry about me, god of this world."

With that Rhulan opens a portal and vanishes.

"Need a hand," says an old man appearing of no where.

"It's just a small rip," says the small man, "The permanent loss of matter is small enough to not cause any real big problems, the only significant loss of energy was Lucifer, the time loss right here is troubling. I think we should make it a point to remember this energy, she did say it was made from the body of something between universes."

"And if she showed up," says the old man, "something else might follow that same path."

"Sounds interesting," says the small man.

"Indeed," says the old man.


	17. Chapter 17: The Evil One

"Where am I?" asks Rhulan appearing on a desolate dark landscape.

"Welcome!" comes a booming voice from nothingness, "sorceress, or is it Celestial Sorceress, The Grape Witch, Cosmic Sorceress, oooh, perhaps Empress is a more befitting title for your highness."

"I am here for a man," says Rhulan, "I was supposed to have appeared on board a space craft, I assume this is not that. So why have you interfered with me?"

"Me? Interfere with you? Indeed, it is you who have interfered with me. Your escapades across the multi-verse can not be ignored any longer. It is one thing to be a cameo, it is another to slaughter and interfere with the balance of good and evil. Your killing one super-hero out of many on a world means nothing; but to go to a world and kill its solitary evil force, its representation of evil is quite another matter."

"You bore me," says Rhulan, "Get to the point or be gone."

"Very well," says the voice, "battle my minions and perhaps I shall allow you to live."

"Idiot," thinks Rhulan as the landscape shifts, turning to forest; she looks around her eyes narrowed in thought.

"Your first opponent," says the voice, "Is the Wolf Man!"

The snarling hairy man charges from the forest.

"A lycanthrope?" asks Rhulan who nonchalantly backhands the Wolf Man knocking it on the ground. She reaches down and grabs it by the ankle, dragging him high into the air. Far above the ground the Wolf Man snarls and tries to reach up at her. It howls as she spins around like a top and releases the Wolf Man back towards the ground. Like a rocket he flies, even igniting from the friction before smashing into the ground.

The landscape changes once again as she lands, turning to her standing on a boat in a lagoon surrounded by jungle.

"So you beat the wolf man," says the voice, "I figured as much, but lets see how you handle the Creature of the Black Lagoon!"

"A Gill Man?" asks Rhulan as the creature crawls up the side.

She reaches down, grabs its head and *snap*, breaks its neck dropping it back into the water.

"Did you not say," says Rhulan talking to the air, "that you saw me kill the personification of evil, and yet you throw at me mere bestials? This is but a game, or else you are trying to tire me out before showing yourself. Know this now demon, I tire of your stupidity! Now show yourself!"

Rhulan floats in the air, a giant purple sigil appears beneath her and purple sparks fly about her.

"What are you doing?!" demands the voice, "this…this is impossible! How are you drawing that magic here? This is my domain! I…stop…stop it! Stop it now!"

The dark landscape distorts and fades away leaving behind metal panels and projectors being corroded, small devices exploding.

Rhulan cancels her spell and floats towards the door, "simpler than I thought." She says as she touches the door, a green energy appears and cracks with the sound of glass as the door opens.

"Stop!" demands the voice coming from the walls, "I can shift reality! I can summon monsters from any world! You die now!"

A blue beam is projected from the walls and a horde of zombies appear before Rhulan in the hallway.

"Fire Lightning!" announces Rhulan as the impossible spell blasts forth from her finger tips, igniting and destroying utterly the zombies blocking her path. Like a goddess of destruction she walks through the charred corpses, crushing bits and pieces of them beneath her boots, her cape scraping the ground like a blade.

As she approaches a heavily locked door, another light appears, before Rhulan now stands a metal skeleton.

"Behold the Terminator!" announces the voice.

The Terminator draws a gun out, however in the blink of an eye Rhulan side steps the machine, grabs its neck in one hand and back kicks its body, severing the head from the body which is sent flying down the hall. The red glowing eyes look at her for a second before going dark.

Rhulan tosses the head to the side before touching the door, the same green crackling energy and the door opens.

"No!," shouts a man inside jumping from the captain's chair drawing an energy pistol on her, "you can't, you couldn't…I…I am!"

"The warden of a Dimension Police prison ship," says Rhulan, "tasks with capturing and containing various dangerous life forms from across various dimensions. You however have been using it as your own personal collection, collecting samples of various none-specific creatures, and then using them for your own entertainment by having them fight each other and various heroes and villains by proclaiming yourself some evil one out to test them. Your own people have been after you."

"Then…" says the man, "you're a dimension police officer! You knew I was scanning that Earth for samples of its monsters? You…of course only Dimension Police tech could kill Lucifer! But I won't be…."

"Thunder Cannon!" yells Rhulan blasting the control panel with her beam like electric blast.

"What?!" screams the man, "Die!"

Before he can pull the trigger Rhulan *Zips* over to him and relieves him of his gun.

"Your internal projection system," says Rhulan, "that is all I took out. I may seem brutish to someone like you but I know exactly what I am doing."

"Now…Sleep!" says Rhulan as a green mist appears around the man who falls over in a deep sleep. Rhulan drags him like a sack across the floor and down the hall before tossing him into one of the collection rooms. She goes back to the control room, and with a few clicks of the environment control panel, which is a little glitchy given that while Rhulan only aimed at the internal projection system/defense systems she still shocked the whole system. However she is able to bring up an empty field environment for the so called Evil One, before she turns back on the Dimension Police beacon that this criminal had turned off when he went rogue. In mere moment Dimension Police ships have arrived, and Rhulan has vanished.

*How kind of you* projects the goddess once again appearing before her in the space between worlds.

Rhulan glares at the goddess, "I don't need the Dimension Police taking notice of me anymore than they have."


	18. Chapter 18: Rhulan vs The Borg

The halls are dark, lit only by odd lights and electric devices. Like a horde of zombies the cybernetic beings known as the Borg wander about searching for the intruder their sensors detected transporting onboard their massive vessel. The narrow passage ways are flooded with the drones, Rhulan hardly has room to maneuver and not knowing her placement in this space craft doesn't dare try to use a large spell having to compromise with narrow beam attack.

"Chainsaw Beam!" shouts Rhulan swinging her arm and pointing her index and ring finger at a drone, firing from them a pink and blue beam with a circular blade like edge. It slices into the head of one drone and takes out two behind it.

"More?" says Rhulan aloud as more come around the corner, buzz saws twirling about their hands.

"Chainsaw Beam!" shouts Rhulan unleashing another shot against these walking single file drones. However this beam fits a force field.

Rhulan raises an eyebrow, "adaptive energy field? Interesting."

"Thunder Cannon!" shouts Rhulan; however this blast is also absorbed.

"Damn," says Rhulan, "guess you would already be adapted to an electric attack."

She looks around her, the narrow halls are stuffed with Borg, all heading her way, "Damn," she thinks, "too many, too tight to maneuver in here and I have no idea what all they can adjust their barriers too. Guess I have no choice but to go all out at once."

"Resistance is Futile, you will be assimilated. Your technological and biological likeness will be added to our own." comes a voice from all the drones at once.

"I think not," says Rhulan with a wicked smile, "adapt to this!"

A purple aura surrounds Rhulan, the very walls, floor, and ceiling dissolve and twist as though distorted in the eyes of an intoxicated god.

One drone comes close and half its body rips apart and corkscrews, leaving the rest to fall to the floor deactivated. More come close and the same happens, they are trying to swarm on her. Her aura expands into a purple sphere around her pushing back and distorting everything in its path, violet sparks shooting from her hands and feet. Her eyes glow violet as though there were no eyeballs and only an inner light.

Rhulan holds her hand out, "Mystic Destroyer!" a massive violet beam distorts and destroys all before it, and nothing hampers its path. From outside the vessel the blast can be seen shooting out from within, a sight that takes a nearby federation ship by surprise as the Borg ship breaks off its tracker beam holding them. Several more such beams fire out from the ship setting off numerous explosions.

"Get us out of here!" shouts the captain of the federation ship, "I don't know what's happening in that Borg cube, but I know we don't want to be anywhere near it!"

As the Borg ship explodes the last thing the Federation ship sees as it escapes is what appears to be a massive violet phoenix ripping the Borg ship apart from the inside. Its wings ripping through the hull as it flies up and through the ship shredding it like paper. As the explosions cease the glow dies down around Rhulan, her aura shifts from violet to blue. She moves about through the vacuum of space as a silent glow. As she moves through the floating bodies and debris she comes across one Borg in particular, nothing special about it, but its aura stands out to Rhulan.

*Flash*

Suddenly Rhulan finds herself standing on a dirt road with this Borg at her feet.

"Soooo," says Q lounging on a tree limb, "you came all this way, blew up a whole ship full of defenseless drones, all for this one single solitary insignificant little…inventor of the Borg."

"That's who was on the list." says Rhulan, "so are you some local ascended uber-being come to chastise me or praise me or fight me or some other such bull-shit?"

Q *shrugs*, "no, just wandering who you are, what you are, and why you'd go through all this trouble."

*snaps fingers*

He appears next to Rhulan looking over the body of the Borg drone that is apparently the ancient drone that was the first drone or perhaps simply the inventor who was assimilated sometime after the Borg went out of control; a history lost in time.

*Snaps fingers*

The Borg drone is alive again, and restored to the alien it once was.

"I…I'm me again?"

"So," says Q, "you invented the Borg?"

"Yes," says the man, "I…all I wanted was unity for my race, no more war, no more hate, only peace and oneness."

"You know," says Q to Rhulan, "that is a pretty descent reason can you really…"

"Combust." says Rhulan coldly, the man bursting into flames, he only has time to scream briefly before his body is reduced to ash.

"Woah," says Q, "did not see that coming."

Rhulan opens a vortex, "I care not for good and evil, right and wrong, or some damned fool's excuses. His soul was long overdo to go to Hell, and that is all that matters to the

uber-being that put him on the hit list."

"Leaving so soon," says Q with a mischievous smile, "you fascinate me."

Rhulan reaches into her robe, the red lining turning black and pulls out a simple looking gun, in fact most would think it looks like a toy or a video game accessory, a white plastic zapper looking thing with a red dorsal design. She aims it at Q.

Q raises his arms in what could be seen as mock and shock surprise, "Now…little lady, where'd you get something like that?"

Rhulan smiles as she backs towards her portal keeping the gun aimed at Q, "If you ever encounter the Dimension Police you'd do well to not play around with them."

Rhulan backs into and vanishes into the portal.

Q smiles

*snaps fingers*

The Borg drone is restored to its drone form, however the drone doesn't get back up.

He snaps his fingers again and again.

A red light cracks beneath the drone and black chains rise up rattling as though warning Q to stay back. They wrap around the drone and drag it into the pit; the red crack vanishes as quickly as it came.

He thinks to himself, "Well now I want to know more about her even more, a sorceress who hunted down the inventor of the Borg and apparently on behalf of some transuniversal force…fascinating.


	19. Chapter 19: Borg Genocide

In the lavish palace of Rhulan, she lounges back on a wide and long couch in a room full of cushions, pillows, and several large round beds. Across Rhulan's lap a Shadow Cat-girl rests. Rhulan strokes her darker than ebony mane. Thoughts cascade over Rhulan's mind, the Borg ship, those drones adapting to her energy attack and their threat of assimilating her biology and technology. Sure she blasted the ship apart using a dimensional attack rather than an energy one so they couldn't adapt, however her means of travel there was by a dimensional portal using technology. She opened the path, if any of their machines remained, or a deep enough scan from a sister ship came by…

"Very well," says Rhulan aloud moving the Shadow Cat-girl from her lap to rest on the couch, a slight murmur of complaint from the sleeping cat-girl.

"We found another one captain," says the ensign.

On the view screen of the Federation Ship a Borg Cube rests dead in space.

"What is doing this?" asks the captain to no one in particular, "that makes twenty Borg ships our people have been tracking found dead in space."

"Should we send an away team captain," asks one of the officers.

"Yes," says the captain, "if only to confirm what the other vessels have reported, Borg bodies rotting and rusting with the interior of the ships rusting away at rapid speed.

An explosion draws their attention to the ship.

"Atmospheric venting and power conduit failures," says the ensign, "the hull is rotting rapidly. Our scans are showing hull failures all over the cube."

"Cancel the away team," says the captain, "it's too dangerous to go over now. We've seen enough."

"Captain, Borg ships incoming!"

"What?" shouts the captain, "where…"

He stops short as red bolts streak across through empty space like lightning from the dead ship over to the new ones, which stop and go dark.

"What?" says the captain, "what just happened?"

"The new cubes," says the ensign, "they're dead in space."

"I want deep scans of every one of them." says the captain, "focus on where that…discharge came from on the first cube, if we can find out what is taking down the cubes we can finally have an advantage over the Borg."

"I'm more worried about what race is booby trapping the ships," whispers the ensign.

-A few months later-

"This is it," says the doctor onboard Voyager.

"This…dust?" asks Captain Janeway.

"The remains of a Borg drone," says the doctor, "however it's not inert dust, although our instruments can't detect it…yet. There appears to be a residual energy imprinted on the dust its self…somehow, even though I can't detect it even down to the sub-atomic level until it's activated."

"Activated?" asks Captain Janeway.

"Ah, I'll show you."

He brings over a canister, "Here we have some Borg nanites that I deactivated of course from our previous encounter with the Borg."

He removes a sample via a machine near the dust sample, "Now watch what happens when I reactivate them."

"Hold on Doctor," says Captain Janeway, "reactivate? Borg nanites…have you done this already?"

"Don't worry," says the doctor with a smile, "they won't be a threat."

The very instant he reactivates the nanites they glow red and vaporize.

"What just happened?" asks Captain Janeway.

"Well," says the doctor smugly, "Who ever it is taking down the Borg they aren't using a device placed in the cubes as we suspected; well the Federation's lead scientists have suspected. No, I realized that the very dust, even after the entire cube has dissolved into space dust, leaves behind in it some sort of energy signature that detects and reacts to Borg nanites, destroying and spreading its self."

"A Borg plague?" asks Captain Janeway.

The doctor shrugs, "That is over simplifying it…but yes, that is basically it. Hmm, a plague that remains inert can't be detected by energy scans, and spreads instantly to nanites of Borg design, not giving them time to adapt…if they can, so something hidden physically and perhaps made to resemble the dust its self so we wouldn't be able to detect it unless we knew exactly what we are looking for."

"Is there a way to prevent it?" asks Captain Janeway.

"Why would you want to do that?" asks Rhulan materializing behind them.

"Who are you?" asks Captain Janeway right before tapping her communication badge, "we have an intruder in the medical bay."

"I…" says Rhulan, "am the one who is destroying your…Borg. Do you have a record of a ship being destroyed via a violet explosion? I do believe I sensed a vessel like this one nearby."

Captain Janeway looks at the doctor as several crew members come in. However despite their phasers being pointed at her their guest remains un-phased.

"Yes," says Captain Janeway, "was that your people?"

"Me," says Rhulan, "Was I who did that. However while my reasons for doing so are none of your concern, I deduced that this…machine infester was too great a threat to my people to allow to exist. If it followed my energy and portal signature back to my world they would pose too great a threat for my people to be able to handle. So…I have procured technology from one of the most ancient races I am aware of…the Suihrai, and have used it on several hundred of these Borg vessels."

"Several hundred?" asks Captain Janeway remembering that they only know of thirty at this point, and most of those are ones spread from existing vessels, "you went into Borg space didn't you?"

"It was the most efficient method," says Rhulan, "….can you have your people lower their weapons, it is a bit…insulting for an Empress such as myself to speak with you while having weapons pointed at her."

"Empress?" murmurs the doctor looking her up and down in her sorceress outfit.

"Are you Suihrai?" asks Janeway while gesturing to her people to lower but not holster their phasers.

"No," says Rhulan rolling her eyes, "I said I procured the weapon from them, I am Aesperian."

"Never heard of either," says Captain Janeway.

"You wouldn't" says Rhulan, "and pray you never again hear those names. Know this however, you do not want to mess with the weapon."

"Why not?" asks Janeway.

"Aside from the obvious," says Rhulan, "what with it exterminating a great threat to life its self, the Genocide weapon is normally designed to target genetic material and can affect an area the size of a planet; contained only within gravity fields. Makes it difficult to use effectively against more than one ship at a time. Thus I modified the weapon to not only target the nanites of this machine race, but to also react to new ones that come within a set distance I gave it. If you inspect your Borg space you will find most of it empty now of your Borg. So unless you want to save your monsters and possibly screw up the weapon and turn it on one or more of the biological identities of the Borg you will leave it alone."

Rhulan vanishes like a ghost.

"Cloak?" asks the doctor.

"No," says Q suddenly appearing from a flash of light, "The Empress of the Aesperians left."

"Q," says Janeway, "what do you know about this?"

"Well," says Q, "remember that little civil war we had?"

"How could I forget," says Janeway.

"Remember those guns we used, that you naturally saw as pistols and rifles? Well she has one; or rather something just like them. She showed up and hunted down the Borg that was the guy who invented the Borg…can't say why or how she knew, but apparently she decided the Borg were a threat worth annihilating. So…she's annihilating them. Such a fascinating individual."

Q manifests an apple and takes a bite, "I have to say I'd love to see what else she could do if only I could follow her back to her own world."

"What?" says Janeway, "you can't follow her back to her home planet?"

"Woops," says Q, "I've said too much…tootles."

And in a *flash* Q is gone, and Rhulan is long gone, Captain Janeway is left with more questions than answers and the threat that tampering with this Genocide weapon, if they can figure out how to tamper with it could shift to any one or more of the races the Borg have assimilated.

Elsewhere the whole scene is being watched from a monitor in a white room with big windows looking out into a garden. Behind the desk observing this scene is a man stroking his white beard.

"Sir," says a woman with long silver hair and wearing a weird purple and blue tight battle suit whose very form looks to be almost painted on with bits of mech armor in just the right spots.

"No," says the old man, "while this particular subject has shown dimensional threat levels in the past her current actions seem more set to aid others."

"Isn't it still interference with the natural development and political structure of a foreign universe?"

"True," says the old man, "although the subjects being targeted are a galactic level threat; her use of a forbidden weapon…how she got it alone warrants investigation. You have a go to observe her actions for now. We don't want to run out ill-prepared."

"Yes sir!" says the woman who then turns and leaves.

"I wander," says the old man freeze framing a series of screens showing Rhulan's recent battles, and the incident that originally caught their attention centuries before, "are you a villain or are you simply chaotic? What reason do you have for doing all this anyway?"


	20. Chapter 20: Rhulan vs The Mummy

Sand blows across a dusty land, an archaeological team with numerous locals haul a sarcophagus out from its burial place in the ruins of a palace in a place no one thought one would be. In this world the time is the 1930's, before the Egyptian government put a stop to British grave robbers calling themselves archaeologists, men looking for treasure and glory. As night falls guards stand around the un-earthed loot loaded onto carts to be taken back to museums in Great Britain. The silent darkness is broken by a creaking as the sarcophagus opens, a bandage wrapped hand extends out from the interior pushing the lid back.

The guards are not fools, they hear the sound from within and expecting a thief coming in from the other side one pulls out his knife and goes inside to investigate while the other pulls out his rifle and goes around back. The bandage wrapped hand covers the throat of the man going inside so tightly he can't scream. The eyeless bandage wrapped face comes in close the horrified eyes of the man staring into the empty sockets as a light streams from the man's face into the eyes, nose, and mouth of the animated corpse. The man's body turns into a husk as the mummy gains eyes, new teeth, and a nose. Sensing the other man coming from the back the mummy grabs the man in his super-human grip through the cart's cloth walls pulling him in. The fate of the first man is followed by this man; the mummy now gaining ears and skin; albeit dried out looking skin. He pulls the bandages from his face and grabs up some clothes in the cart, dawning them he now looks like any old man who may be found in this area.

The man, the living mummy steps out from the cart surveying the new world before him. Not far away he hears the sound of a woman speaking. His inhuman eyes see her aura. As he approaches the tent he speaks a word softly to himself that translates as "my princess"

The sight of the tent suddenly becomes far away and below as the mummy finds himself suddenly flying backwards high into the air and lands far outside the camp. As he stands, un-harmed by this attack a new woman stands before him, a woman unlike any he's ever seen before, a pale woman with hair that would appear to be black, yet the light from the camp and the moon shines it a dark red; a most un-natural color from this ancient man's experience. Her clothing is especially foreign and un-natural.

"You are the evil?" asks Rhulan, "a mere undead thing? The so called sources of evil on these worlds once again disappoints me."

The mummy mutters something and the sand kicks up and flies at her.

"Spirit Shield." says Rhulan calling up her barrier to block the sand.

The Mummy's mouth opens wide and a swarm of flies come forth.

"Disgusting," says Rhulan followed by, "Combust!". The swarm of flies bursts into flames.

In the flash of a blink Rhulan flies forward and back hands the mummy sending it flying again like her toss before when she came up behind it as it approached the tent. The mummy stands, its head twisted around. It twists its own head back around. The mummy is not happy, in his time he was a powerful priest granted power by the gods themselves and now a woman stands between him and his prize.

The fire burst from the combusting flies did not go un-noticed nor did the missing guards when their shift change showed up. Now a horde of men with rifles and the archaeological team follow the sounds of a man screaming out something in ancient Egyptian. Just as they come upon the sight of a woman and man out in the desert a swarm of locusts appear from a dark cloud over the man. Rhulan leaps back before the archaeological team, directly in front of the woman.

"Spirit Shield!" yells out Rhulan erecting a massive dome of energy, however it does not cover all the men, many of them are outside the range of the spell. These unlucky men are attacked and consumed by the un-natural locusts.

Rhulan's eyes glow blue as she mumbles something. The shield glows brighter and blasts of blue fire are emitted by the shield consuming the locusts. As Rhulan drops the shield the mummy points at her and yells out something.

"By God," says the lead archaeologist, "He says you vile…monster…or demon…will not stand between me and my princess. She will be mine."

"A deluded old corpse driven mad by his own curse," says Rhulan nonchalantly, "don't worry humans this thing will be gone in a moment."

Rhulan aims her hand at the mummy.

He yells out something else, which the archaeologist translates as, "do your worst sorceress I am protected by the power of the gods."

Rhulan smiles and says, "Inferno Blast!"

The archaeologist and surviving team members back away, some running in fear as the white hot blast of flame shoots out like a beam, turning the sand to glass and incinerating the undead creature.

"wha…wha..wha…wha…" stammers the British archaeologist.

Rhulan turns around and looks over the dumbfounded team, eyeing the girl the mummy was after. Rhulan *shrugs*, "not my type."

"What?" says the girl blushing.

Rhulan turns and opens a portal. After she steps through and vanishes the archaeologists are left standing around with many questions. They learn not long after the curse on the sarcophagus and can guess at what happened there; as impossible as it seems; however the woman with the magic powers is a complete wild card to which they have no explanations.


	21. Chapter 21: Rhulan vs Michael Myers

"You have to be kidding me," says Rhulan as she appears in the street, a young woman running across it behind her and Rhulan appearing before a tall man in a white mask.

"Didn't I already kill you?" asks Rhulan with a shrug.

The large man raises his knife as he approaches her.

"Telekinetic Hold," says Rhulan lifting the man into the air with the psionic spell.

"Thunder Cannon!" yells out Rhulan blasting the man back across the street onto the lawn.

The woman who had been running stops and looks back thanks to the noise and mouths "what…the…fuck?"

Rhulan flies into the air above Michael Myers, his name known to her thanks to the list given to her by the goddess. A blue aura surrounds Rhulan as she yells out, "Devastation!" and flies straight down like a rocket feet first. With a loud *boom* that wakes up the entire neighborhood she impacts the ground, and Michael Myers, the ground is now a crater and as the dust settles, the slasher known as Michael Myers is a blood stain, crushed guts, and various body parts that flew off in all directions.

"Now just in case he can regenerate," says Rhulan floating above the crater not a stain on her, "Combust!"

The crater becomes a fire pit as the corpse of Michael Myers is reduced to ash. Rhulan is quick to leave this world just as a crowd begins to appear in the streets.


	22. Chapter 22: Rhulan vs Pennywise (It)

"huh," says Rhulan floating above the quiet little town, invisible to those below, "I sense something emitting a strong psychic wave, hmmm."

She follows the psychic waves to an opening into the underground caverns and sewer system. As she floats inside, deep into the tunnels beneath the town she comes across something weird, a giant spider like creature emitting light from its abdomen.

"I see you," projects the creature, however its thoughts are unheard by Rhulan as her mental barrier was intensified the closer she came to the source of the psychic waves to protect her. However it turning towards her is enough to alert her that it senses her presence.

She becomes visible and with a waving arms gesture summons up a cyclone of wind around her, "Slashing Winds!" she yells out as the winds rip against the hide of the giant creature. It backs up but is clearly unharmed.

As it begins to move forward Rhulan shrugs and looks at the ceiling above her, remembering that there are streets above her and houses.

"So be it," says Rhulan as she places the tips of her fingers against her temple, her eyes glowing white, "Power of the inner light, bring forth the wave of madness!"

The monster stops moving and shakes, the light in its body blinking on and off. It falls over and twitches.

A dark blue light appears under Rhulan's toes as she floats in a circle around the great beast, leaving a trail, a circle in fact. As she closes the circle the monster's light begins to return and tries to rise. However it is held tight by the sigil that appears in the circle.

"Monster," says Rhulan, "it is clear to me that the amount of power it would take to slay you would bring the town down upon my head…literally. So instead you get off lucky…maybe, for this is the sigil of Biohm the keeper of the gates. So you…are about to take a little trip beyond the veil."

Rhulan taps her foot and the sigil becomes a vortex into which the monster simply falls. It closes directly behind it.

In another world the giant spider like creature falls into a marsh. Mere moments later as it stands and starts to move about massive green tentacles wrap around its body and drag it into the waiting maw of a massive plant like creature. In a single snap the monster spider's body is crushed as it is eaten. The mindless plant monster completely immune to any psychic tricks the spider like horror may have and far beyond its physical limits to defend against.


	23. Chapter 23: Rhulan vs The Sleep Stalker

The sand swirls and reforms back into the shape of a man leaving behind a corpse stripped of its flesh. As the inhuman creature of revenge and death turns a blue fire erupts beneath it swirling about it. Leaving behind only a statue of glass.

Rhulan, having just appeared behind it aims her hand saying, "Vibration Sphere."

A yellow bolt flies into the glass statue phasing into the clear surface and explodes from the center. Rhulan's defensive aura blocks out the shards of glass.

"Well that was easy," says Rhulan as she opens her portal and vanishes.


	24. Chapter 24: Rhulan vs The Wish Master

"What is your wish," says the Djinn to a woman holding its gem.

"Now that is better," says Rhulan appearing out of no where, "a real evil bastard, and a magic item to go with him."

"Who are you?" asks the Djinn.

*Zip*

Rhulan has grabbed the gem, "Interesting," she says examining it closely; "it's a sub-space chamber. So this holds you prisoner until someone picks it up, and you get to be free if they make three wishes then you get their soul; and yet anyone can make a wish and you get their souls."

The Djinn looks at her, "you are awfully knowledgeable aren't you."

"Not really," shrugs Rhulan, "This data was on the hit list."

"What?" asks the Djinn, "are you here to kill me?"

Rhulan smiles as her fist glows violet.

"No!" yells the Djinn as the mystically enforced hand of Rhulan crushes the gem in mystic sparks.

"Noooooo!" screams the Djinn as its body bubbles and melts away.

Rhulan looks at the dumbfounded woman and says, "There are few things more deadly than a spell caster who is well informed and has had time to prepare. Especially when faced with an overly self assured enemy. Especially with my ability to see the paths of energy and dimensions. The simple act of disrupting its matrix and destroying it with my Mystic Fist…in a rather unusual method, and something like that Djinn is easily taken care of."

"Any who," says Rhulan blowing the red dust out of her palm, "another evil bastard

down. At this rate I should have these freaks dealt with in short order."

She opens a portal and vanishes leaving behind the woman who moments before was trying to think of a way to undo all the wishes or kill the Djinn with a wish.


	25. Chapter 25: Rhulan vs Ghost Face: Scream

*Snap!*

The head of the man in the cloak and ghost mask is twisted to the side, neck broken. He lies dead in the middle of the tree line just outside the lights of a nearby house.

Rhulan reaches down and removes the mask.

"what the hell?" says Rhulan, "it's…a kid?"

Rhulan grimaces and looks to the sky, "Goddess! Show yourself!"

The being known as the goddess appears before her in the woods, her form as before, a mirrored image with dark wavy hair and long dark dress.

"What is the meaning of this?" demands Rhulan, "I sought the very aura you imprinted on the list and it's just this…kid."

***not a child*** projects the goddess ***this is the first, a second soon to follow, and more after copying the murder spree of this one. With this one dead, after having just tied up a man nearby who will be found unharmed now the murder spree and future copiers of this one shall be no more**.*

Rhulan practically growls through her teeth, "I am not a slayer of weak little proto-humans! For future reference…your highest of all…if you want humans dead send someone else. This wasn't worth my time!"

Rhulan vanishes through her portal.

The goddess looks down at the body and over at the house as the girl inside who had moments before been on the phone with this killer heads out the patio doors to untie her boyfriend from a chair.

***hmmm***, queries the goddess to herself, ***perhaps this one was a bit beneath you my dear. Maybe…but then haven't most of these been beneath you**?*

With a smile the goddess vanishes, not that she was visible before to the eyes of mortals.


	26. Chapter 26: Rhulan vs Leather Face:Texas

A woman screams as she runs through a field, behind her a large man in a leather mask made of human skin closes in behind her with a chainsaw. Not far behind him a house filled with his kin, cooking up the remains of humans; the girl's companions in fact.

The girl trips to the ground as the man closes in on her. Rhulan appears like a ghost between them. With a swift motion she backhands the chainsaw from the surprised man's hands, a blue defense aura sparking up around her hand and arm upon impact. Before the man can say anything Rhulan puts out her hand and "Lightning Shocker" blasts the man back across the field with an electric discharge.

The girl faints in the grass as Rhulan floats over the man, hovering above him she can see he is clearly only human.

"Again?" says Rhulan, "another weak pathetic human? Damned goddess!"

The goddess appears beside her, like a vision see through and only about waist up there.

Rhulan narrows her eyes at the vision, the goddess smiles back.

"Fine," says Rhulan, "but if this is what you want then deal with the consequences!"

Rhulan comes down, the man moans. With a quick stomp she smashes the man's head beneath her boot. His clan is coming from the house seeing their pa dead on the ground, his head smashed into paste. Seeing this they yell out "get her!"

Rhulan with a swift gesture of her arms summons a cyclone around her, and with a grand display aims her hand at the group before her while yelling out, "Slashing Winds!"

A powerful wind, focused and dense in places like blades streaks across the landscape slashing up the leather face clan, cleaving flesh from bone, blood is strewn across the ground, bones shredded as though they were little more than straw. The building behind them does not fare much better. What is left behind will be viewed by the authorities as a sudden mysterious wind, or an act of God as the local news will spin it. The surviving girl will describe an angel in black, an angel of death. However given her ordeal she will never be stable again and skeptics write off her experience as a trauma induced hallucination invented by her mind after the mysterious wind streak through the area. The CIA however will suspect something else happened, but what specifically even they may never know.


	27. Chapter 27: Rhulan vs Devil (Legend)

In a far away magical land there once was a devil, a dark lord of evil and darkness who wished to bathe the world in eternal night. To this end he seduced an under age girl and took the horn of a unicorn. A troop of heroes, a young man, some elves, and even a fairy rose up against him. With the rebirth of innocence and the light of dawn they sent the red devil through a portal into the depths of space saving their world. Unbeknownst to them evil does not die so easily. Through the void he floated until colliding with something else, a creature of utter darkness, writhing shadows, and madness. Or perhaps it sought him out.

"My son," says the entity, "I sense an imbalance in the forces of good and evil, a chaotic force has been unleashed tipping the scales towards good. You must stop it."

"Yes father," says the devil, "I will bring darkness to the land, evil shall fill the hearts of beast and man."

"Go," says the darkness, its very body, if that was a body, twists and turns into a portal sucking in the devil and sending him to land in a new place.

A little town, a quaint little place with its whimsical looking houses, cobblestone streets, and peasants going about their tasks. The silence is disrupted by screams as a fiery portal appears and out steps the large red skinned, giant black horned devil. As he appears the sky turns black with clouds, and snow begins to fall.

"Yes," says the devil, "the darkness, the cold. This world shall be entombed in ice…"

*kaboom!*

A blue energy bolt explodes on the devils back knocking him forward a little bit before he steadies himself on his cloven hooves. Behind him a swordsman stands, his sword glowing blue.

"Are you the hero I was told about?" says the devil, "the chaotic one slaying evil?"

"Captain," says another man coming from the other side, his sword glowing red.

"Stand back," says the first man, "we don't know what this demon is capable of…other than controlling the weather."

A few more men arrive all swords drawn and glowing various colors.

"Come at me heroes." says the devil, "show me what you can do. I shall show you dread and fear, fill your hearts and those you would protect with the coldness of despair."

"Psionic Pulse!" yells one guard summoning a shock wave from his sideways turned sword. It throws the air and nearby debris around but doesn't phase the devil.

"Chi Bomb!" yells the captain throwing another blue sphere. The devil turns up his hands and summons a mighty flame that surrounds the blue sphere making it explode. The captain is thrown backwards by the intense explosion.

"Still alive?" asks the devil, "how resilient your people must be. It will be a pleasure to subjugate such strong souls."

"Wind Slicer!" yells another guard sending a green blade of wind flying at the horned devil.

A mighty black blade appears from the darkness a voice instantly in the devil's mind from the dark force, "use this my son."

With a mighty swing the devil cuts through the attack.

"Stand down!" comes the voice of Rhulan from above as the clouds vanish, yet the sky is still dark, the very sky of this world twisting and turning like a sea of darkness.

"How peculiar," says the devil.

"I am the one you seek," says Rhulan, "and how kind of you and your master to bring the final opponent on the list to me. You certainly are a step up from the mortal fools I slew just now before returning."

"You are this world's champion?" says the devil, "a mere woman?"

"No," says Rhulan as she summons from a black portal the Seraphim Sword, "I am this world's ruler. I am the Empress Rhulan, the Celestial Sorceress, the goddess of this land."

"All the better," says the devil as he swings his sword unleashing a wave of fire.

Rhulan's sword glows blue as it slashes through the fire wave.

*clang*

The devil blocks her sword with his own as she comes in close.

"Impressive," says Rhulan, "but you are weak!"

With a mighty thrust she sends the devil flying backwards through the street.

In a span of time shorter than the blink of an eye Rhulan un-summons her sword and flies past the devil. From behind she upper cuts him into the air. As he flies up it becomes apparent that the wavy darkness is not the sky but a curtain between heaven and earth. He flies into it followed shortly behind by Rhulan.

The devil finds himself landing, on one knee, in a new place, yet it looks so similar to where they were save for being a very empty town.

Rhulan floats down behind him, in her hand a clear sphere appears with a green aura around it and swirl pattern inside it.

"Wind Sphere!" yells Rhulan throwing the sphere which upon impact with the ground beneath the devil turns into a green cyclone throwing the devil into the air. He lands on his feet.

"I am eternal," he says, "no matter what you try sorceress, self proclaimed goddess, I will not…there is light here?"

The landscape is sunny yet casts no shadows, the air is still and silent, no birds to be heard.

Rhulan begins to laugh, "Just now noticing the false light? Your aura speaks volumes, as did your entrance to Aesperia. I could have just as easily have transported you to a sunny place. But I felt this was far more poetic. Welcome to Hell."

"What?" says the devil, "I am the dark lord, the prince of darkness and evil. There is nothing…"

"Oh shut up," says Rhulan, "if you are so certain then just stand there and die."

"Inferno Blast!" yells Rhulan unleashing the white hot flame.

The ground is scorched, the land burnt, yet the devil remains unharmed his sword before him.

"Huh," says Rhulan, "fire and ice…kind of cheap, but I can deal with that."

Rhulan aims her hand at him, "Plasma Beam!"

The blue beam of destructive energy is split by the sword the devil is holding.

A sigil appears before Rhulan as she chants.

"I call upon thou whose scales are more crimson than the setting sun.

whose eyes shine brighter than a thousand torches.

whose fangs can dishearten even the bravest of gods.

whose breath can wither and decay the oldest and wisest of trees.

I call upon you to decay and corrupt that which stands before me.

Will of Corruption!

Nidhogg!"

A pink beam blasts from the sigil before Rhulan. The devil slashes at the beam, however rather than be split the beam turns to mist and soaks into the blade. The blade cracks and turns to dust.

"Well," says Rhulan at least we know the root eating dragon is superior to what ever made your little toothpick."

Her wicked smile and look of death in her eyes throws the devil off his guard as he clinches his fist around the dust. Fire rises around him.

"Enough of this," says Rhulan, "your best trick is obviously your durability, so let's put it to the test."

He summons a fire ball and sends it into the air, however given her height it comes apart before even reaching her.

She *shrugs*, "well time to die, I tried to make it look glorious and interesting given how boring my last few fights were but decapitation it is you one trick no tricks demon."

Rhulan's hand glows with dark red energy. She flies faster than even this supernatural monster can see coming up behind him, she swings her hand as though to karate chop the devil in the neck. She yells out "Demon's Rapier!" as her hand slices through his neck like a hot knife through butter. She grabs one of the horns holding the head aloft as the body falls over.

As she steps back the head speaks, "I am eternal, I can not die!"

The body stands up again.

As the head laughs Rhulan tosses it aside.

Her eyes glow violet as a violet fiery energy surrounds her. She holds her hands out and brings them together while yelling out, "Mystic Destroyer!".

A massive violet energy beam leaves a path of twisted earth as it engulfs the body of the devil destroying it utterly.

She stands over the head, whose eyes show only hatred and speaks no words.

"Mystic Bolt," says Rhulan coldly as a violet fire ball like bolt blasts the head leaving only a crater and a few pieces of horn. Rhulan opens a portal and vanishes.

A moment later the horns melt and come together, the lava forms a tiny body, a tiny copy of the devil.

"I will remember this," says the devil, "I will not under-estimate you again sorceress."

A black leather boot comes into his view. Looking up he sees an athletic woman wearing black leather armor, blue skin, and aerodynamic horns on the sides her head above her pointed ears.

She reaches down and picks up the devil.

"Well aren't you a cute little Red Devil," says the woman, "never seen a miniature red devil before though."

"Un-hand me woman," says the devil, "I am the dark lord I am…what are…"

She stuffs him into her blue cleavage as she flies into the air faster than the devil ever dared dream of traveling. She lands at a penthouse of a sky scrapper. She takes out the devil and sets him down on a table.

"So," says the woman, "are you what I sensed earlier…no…hmm…ah ha! I see it now, you must have limitless regeneration as one of your special traits and this is what all that was left over after the Celestial Sorceress killed you…"

She nods happy with herself, "Yep, that was her I sensed, the other much lower power signature was you then. Man you were way out of your league. But don't worry…"

A fire breaks out on the table, "I am the dark lord, you will show me the respect I…hey.."

She picks him up completely un-harmed by the man and pats out the fire on her table.

"As I was saying," she continues carrying the struggling devil around, "I am going to make it so you never have to fight her again, because you will be mine, all mine, you cute little devil doll."

Her smile actually brings shivers up the devil's back.

"I am darkness, I am hate," says the devil but is cut off by a flick of the finger to his head knocking him out.

"There you go Endara," says a sweet soft voice.

The devil opens his eyes to find himself on a table in a different room, something British Traditional in style and furnishing. His body feels funny, not growing, no fire inside as he felt before while regenerating slowly. Before him, giant to him, is a small woman with ample bosom and long green hair.

"Thank you Misaline," says Endara, "hear that my little toy, you will forever be this size, and your new body is made of very durable materials so you don't have to worry about rough play."

"May you both have many years of happy playtimes," says Misaline so sweetly it actually scares the devil.

"Madness," thinks the devil, "what madness is this?"

And so it was that the devil, prince of evil and darkness and all that rot was defeated in battle soundly by a sorceress his own father the dark eldritch horror of the cold dark void sent him after and found himself later turned into the play thing of Overlord Endara, ruler of the first layer of the hell of another world; changed permanently into a small toy by the unfathomable powers of the sorceress Misaline.

"seriously," says Rhulan in her bed chambers awakened by the goddess who related these events to her, "That low class over the top demon could survive that?"

***Don't you care about its fate**?* projects the goddess.

"Not really," says Rhulan sitting up from her bed, the sheets falling off her amble bare chest and revealing two gorgeous woman sleeping on either side of her whose murmurs display their protest at having their empress leave their twin embrace, "I was sleeping just now after all. Besides if Endara and Misaline want to play toy shop and dress that thing up in pink dresses and have tea parties they can do that all they want. If you want that thing permanently dead, you take it up with them. I'm not about to tell either Endara or Misaline I plan to take one of their toys away. So good night."

Rhulan lies back, the two woman snuggling up to her and wrapping their arms back around her with happy murmurs, if awake pretending they didn't hear anything that just happened, if not, no matter in either case Rhulan would never bring it up and neither would they.

The goddess vanishes.

In the depths of space a massive black feminine shadow figure appears near the darkness. A great hand, claw like in appearance reaches down and grabs the embodiment of evil. In a quick squeeze the darkness is engulfed and vanishes in blue flames.

***Each soul a protective seal*** projects the being, seemingly to its self or else to an unseen audience ***each one preventing anyone from entering this space and killing this mistake of the past. Even with one remaining, in its diminished and altered form it could not protect you…mistake of the past***


	28. Chapter 28: Rhoan the Demon General

The sun is slowly going down as the two men enter the mansion, Sam and Dean Winchester, prepared to warn the Alpha Vampire of the betrayal of the Leviathans. Not long after they enter a dark spiral appears outside the mansion, out of which steps a man. His clothes are as shadows clinging to his mighty torso and arms, his pants thankfully are looser and appear cloth like. His boots and cape sharing the same darkness as the rest of his clothes. This man clinches his fists, held in clawed gloves that would give one the impression they contain the claws of some mechanical dragon. His pale face is in stark contrast to his dark clothes and short dark beard. His dark hauntingly blue eyes silently survey the mansion before him.

The gloating of the ancient vampire and leviathan as Sam and Dean are held captive at the other end of the table is cut short by the sounds of the front door being shattered and the vampires within the mansion fighting something and then falling silent.

"What now?" says the Alpha Vampire.

The door to the dining room splinters as the dark clothed man enters, moving through the door as though it were only paper. Impaled on his claws is a pair of vampires, with a fling he throws them off, their bodies dissolving in black flames.

"Who are you?" asks the Alpha Vampire.

"I am Rhoan the demon general of the fifth legion of the Dark World, the Empress of Darkness wishes for your death, and that of this creature called a Leviathan."

Sam and Dean step aside as the Leviathan charges, its head opening up in a goofy pac-man like maw.

Rhoan's hand ignites in black fire. With a single punch of his dark fire fist he vaporizes the Leviathan's head. Its body falls down and dissolves in black flames.

"Now for the vampire," says Rhoan as the fire vanishes from his fist.

"I am not so easily killed," says the vampire as he charges Rhoan.

With a single mighty punch Rhoan sends the vampire flying through the wall into the garden outback. The vampire lands on the ground on his back with a mighty thud. Rhoan floats in the air above him, his cape wraps around forming a very cone like shape. His body erupts in blue flames which dance about.

"Devastation," says Rhoan to himself as his body drops like a rocket stabbing into the mid-section of the vampire and into the ground.

His cape comes open with a mighty gush of wind, sending the two halves of the vampire flying in opposite directions. As they fly he summons forth the dark flames in both hands blasting the two halves into nothingness with the dark fire blasts.

"So," says Crowly appearing suddenly, "you're a de…*gak*"

He is cut short, as Rhoan stands, his finger pointed at Crowly and extending out along its path a stretch of his cape has extended forming a serrated bladed stabbing directly into Crowly with the speed of darkness. His eyes and mouth flash red as his spirit is destroyed with in this long dead body he was possessing. The snake sword like stretch of shadow cloth withdraws, slithering through the air as though it has its own will and merges back into the cape seamlessly.

"Dean," says Sam looking out the gaping hole in the wall as the man opens a large spiral dark portal and vanishes, "what was that?"

"How would I know," says Dean, "but it just kicked the ass of a Leviathan, big daddy vamp, and the king of Hell."


	29. Chapter 29: Time Interlude 2

Time has passed, decades gone by and the dimensional gate has been "moth-balled" Rhulan deeming it more a threat to Aesperia than an asset at this time. Decades later the hero Gyro-Lee and his party using the mirror of Syris defeat Rhulan, turning her to stone. A thousand years later she is freed from her stone imprisonment by Hollia, a young white sorceress in-training. Together they embark on an epic quest across Aesperia. Some time after this long quest something new comes to pass.


	30. Chapter 30: Battle the Deadly Mantis

He scratches his short brown beard as the scientists marvel over their find. Deep below the basements and tunnels of Stratalia are the remains of the ancient MetalCastle, or rather the Ark ship its self that the Empress Rhulan had not infused with nanites of her own design and thus was not turned to dust when the empire fell. This man standing here trying to look interested, or rather pretend he has any idea what these scientists are saying doesn't look like what he is. His short brown hair, short beard, plain yet strong face, and especially his rather common place green tunic, brown pants, and boots make him look like any other adventurer; instead of Tyros Lia the head of the Adventurers guild and de-facto king of Stratalia.

"So," says Tyros after the men have stopped talking, "what is again?"

The scientists look at each other and back at the large screen, "Sir," says one man stepping forth, "We…believe we've found the legendary dimension gate."

Tyros looks at the large screen, not long before this he saw blue prints from the Precursor computers that coincided with blue prints from the Ark systems of a movie screen.

"A movie screen?" he asks.

"Noooo," says a scientist not sure what to say to his boss.

"It's a portal generator to another world," says Jasma coming into the room with Hollia close behind.

Jasma flips her golden blond hair off her elven ears as she steps forward, "This technology is similar to elven portal windows, albeit a bit more…primitive."

"The dimension gate?" asks Hollia marveling at it, "I…thought those were pure fiction."

Hollia walks towards the controls, "In the stories of the Rhulan Empire it spoke of Miss Rhulan journeying to other worlds via this gate and defeating evil monsters…but…."

She looks up at the gateway screen, "the way they read, they sound like propaganda to make Miss Rhulan sound like a hero at a time when their was so much unrest across the world."

"Miss Holly-Lia," says one of the scientists.

"No," whispers another scientist with a stern look putting his hand on his assistant's shoulder.

"Well," says Hollia, "Miss Rhulan did say a few times she ran into warriors in other worlds…however, it's been my experience she doesn't need a gate device to do that. So this is kind of weird. I think we should ask her."

The head scientist's eye twitches as he remembers seeing the real living Rhulan before, this intimidating woman who spoke to aliens on even terms, whose magic was greater than anything he'd ever seen, inhumanly so. He remembers back in Agrax, when he and his assistant were told by the authority that they were going to be sent "on-loan" to Ravashira to aid in analyzing mechanical designs of ancient technology that the mostly magic based society of Ravashira wouldn't be familiar with. Naturally in exchange for alchemists to look over some uncovered ancient mystical devices; both in essence helping the other uncover found technology that incorporated elements of machinery and sorcery that each would in effect only be able to recognize half of.

"Magic…" mumbles the man.

"Something wrong," asks Jasma turning to him.

"Oh, nothing Lady Jasma," says the head scientist trying not to sound nervous, "just…"

"He wanted to discover the secrets himself," butts in the assistant, "we mean no disrespect, and it's just the idea of being able to directly ask a legendary…somewhat mythical figure about an ancient find is new to us, not being from this fabulous mystical land and all."

Jasma raises an eyebrow.

"I get it," says Tyros.

The head scientist *sighs*

"Holly," says Tyros, "please contact Rhulan…where is she anyway?"

"Miss Rhulan," says Hollia, "she went to Dark World to visit her brother."

"Hm," says Tyros, "surprised you didn't go with her."

Hollia blushes a little, "Lin Lin and I needed to do some training, besides I make the demons nervous."

Jasma smiles.

"Huh," says Rhulan standing before the dimension gate, "this takes me back,"

Lin Lin *chirps* as she tilts her head while floating above Hollia's shoulders.

"Wel…hi…uh," stammers the lead scientist.

Rhulan raises one eyebrow, "Greetings, you are the Agrax scientist correct?"

"Y…yes," says the assistant as his boss is silent before the sorceress.

"Well," says Rhulan, "I moth-balled this project, this equipment was not maintained, I trust you haven't tried to turn anything on."

Before either scientist can speak she raise her hand for them to stop, "Nothing has been burned or exploded that I can see so at the very least the power source was removed, the lights of course operating on the shi…this Metal Catacombs' main generators. *sigh* this gate proved to be pointless. It creates a clear signature in any world you go to that sufficient magic or technology could be used to trace back here. After encountering some rather dangerous life forms and technology to the whole of Aesperia I had this project shut down. After all neither I nor sufficient military force can be guarding this gate at all times just for a curiosity. Not when we have other worlds in our own universe to explore and this gate does not operate like the Kuhrai gates which connect to various points in this universe; no it only connects to points in other realities, often randomly…or more unfortunately zeroing in on the strongest mystical signature of that world…which time and again proved to be something evil…for some reason."

"Well," says Jasma entering the lab, "that is what the stories say,"

"Stories?" asks Rhulan.

"Yes Miss Rhulan," says Hollia, "There are stories, I…think exaggerated that talk about you using this gate to slay evil monsters in various worlds to prevent them from coming to Aesperia."

"hmm," says Rhulan with a *shrug*, "I can see that, surprised such stories survived at all. Can't imagine how exaggerated they became but…"

"We want to adjust its use," says Jasma.

Rhulan looks at her with a questioning look.

"We intend," says Jasma, "to utilize this technology for the merchant's guild. If we can locate a primitive world, a spherical world as we now know Aesperia is a flat counterpart of and Elven dimension hoppers as you know allow for equivalent location transportation across different parallel worlds, then we can build Kuhrai gates on each side of the End Sea, so by jumping from our world to that world then using the gates to cross the sea and utilizing a dimension gate there be able to quickly transport goods from the eastern shores of Ravashira to the western shores of Croix and Ifrit.

The Agrax scientists look at each other not exactly enthralled about helping the merchant's guild bypass their part of the world to allow air ships to skip to the other end of the world.

"Hmm," says Rhulan, "in other words your convoluted scheme really just means first finding a world you haven't already visited, as your dimension hoppers are linked to your ships which can jump dimensions and lay low in those worlds."

Even though Jasma knows Rhulan already knew this she can't help but feel confronted by the way Rhulan is speaking.

"So you want a gate that allows you to send a person, individuals to explore unknown worlds with out popping in there with a big obvious space ship…or else requiring that said world has some dimensionally unstable zone that is out of sight for your ships to jump into."

"Yes," says Jasma simply, "is that a problem?"

Hollia looks nervously between her mother and Rhulan.

"No," says Rhulan nonchalantly, "not if you allow the first exploration to be myself and Hollia."

Lin Lin *chirps*

"And Lin Lin of course," says Rhulan with a smile, "but Lin Lin you need to ask your mother first don't you?"

Lin Lin nudges Hollia.

Hollia giggles as the little dragon tickles her cheek, "of course you can come Lin Lin."

Jasma smiles, "I have no issues with this, you are both seasoned and obviously qualified adventurers for such a mission. So as soon as the gate is up and running I will clear with the guild the mission for your team to go on a top secret exploration job."

As Jasma leaves she thinks, "I couldn't have planned that out any better, two of the guild's highest ranking adventurers are perfect for this job."

The black and white step into the mist through the portal; their forms seemingly lost in the thickness of this unexpected fog.

*skreee*

Lin Lin's alarm instantly alerts them to a form in the mist, something massive hidden in the thickness.

"Saint's Barrier!" yells out Hollia raising her deep blue barrier as the massive green hook of a mantis comes down. It is slow, yet strong, hitting against the barrier.

Lin Lin blasts out a Devastation Beam from her mouth blasting off the tip of the monster's hook.

As it lunges back in surprise Rhulan flies into the air forming a red fiery sphere in her hand.

"Fire Sphere!" shouts Rhulan as she throws the spell right into the face of the impossibly huge insect.

*kaboom!*

The Fire Sphere explodes against the eye of the monster.

*Keeeee!* screeches the creature.

Hollia drops her barrier, in a blast of blue flames she summons her glistening white staff. With a wave of her staff and a yell of, "Ice Spears!" she summons and throws three large spears of ice that fly right into the face and neck of the monster stabbing it in the mouth and throat.

The monster opens its wings, however Lin Lin spins summoning a red flame that grows and rises into the air as a giant serpent of fire. This Salamander attack comes down on top of the mantis, its *keeeeeee!* shakes the ears of Hollia and Rhulan as the monster flops to the ground.

"Stand back!" yells out Rhulan.

Lin Lin comes down to Hollia who summons her "Saint's Barrier" to dome over the two of them.

Rhulan calls lightning between her hands, it intensifies and turns black.

"Black Lightning!" yells out Rhulan, the bolts of darkness strike the monster, blasting off parts of its carapace and taking out fully now the eye the Fire Sphere had damaged.

The monster spits up blood from its mouth as it backs away, its body damaged.

"Saint's Fire!" yells out Hollia summoning a massive wave of blue flames that wash over the monster.

It stops moving, its carapace cracks and steam escapes its inner body. The sound coming from its throat, including a whistle from where ice had stabbed it before, is not a natural sound. Foam and steams escape the mouth and the edges of the remaining eye, and even the hole where the other eye had been spouts out steam and bloody foam.

The monster falls to the ground its body shattering and coming apart.

"Did I over do it?" asks Hollia.

Rhulan *shrugs*, "Given what it is, it shouldn't even be able to be this size and still be able to move with out breaking apart. Sure doesn't seem though to have the diamond fiber shell of our giant arthropods."

The giant mantis is practically dissolving as its shell cracks apart and its innards leak out.

Hollia *gags*, "By the goddess, it…oh my."

"Yeah we liquefied its innards. We better get out of here before the smell makes us all vomit."

In the distance they hear the sound of police sirens as they vanish through a portal Rhulan opens.

The newspapers of this Earth will read, [Deadly Mantis found mysteriously dead. Body badly burned and innards cooked to liquefaction]

A smaller article will read [Smell of deceased Deadly Mantis results in evacuation of town, government clean up crews working around the clock to remove corpse]


	31. Chapter 31: The Leprechaun on Aesperia

Evil can never be destroyed, only diminished. Across the infinite void a black wisp swirls through the nothingness. It slips into a slice of time and space.

A green portal appears in the middle of the forest, out of which steps a small ugly man in a strange green costume.

"Ah," says the man, "So this is the place, the dark one better be right…oh treasure and riches shall soon be mine."

*chirp?*

Lin Lin floats over a log and tilts her head at the little man.

"What manner of wyrm are you?" says the Leprechaun, "no matter, no gold hording wyrm will keep me from the treasure no doubt in a cave just behind you beastie."

"Ah-ha!" shouts the Leprechaun as he shoots a green energy bolt splitting the log as Lin Lin dodges and flies away.

"No wings and yet she flies," says the Leprechaun, "no matter, lead me back to the treasure foul beast."

He laughs like a mad-man as he follows Lin Lin over the rocks, the stream, the grass, past some odd white mushroom like things he doesn't recognize, yet the quest for treasure blinds him to any unfamiliar sights until he stops short at a dirt road where Lin Lin has flown into the air and hovers about Hollia. Beside her is Rhulan.

"Who are you?" asks Hollia.

"So," says the Leprechaun, "tis not a golden bounty the dragon guards, but a bountiful virgin. You will make a wonderful bride…"

He scowls over at Rhulan, "be gone governess the girl is mine now!"

He waves his hand and sends a green electric bolt at Rhulan. She absorbs it.

"What the bloody hell," says the Leprechaun, "I see I was too quick, by thy garb I see thee are a witch. So what price you want for the…"

*punt*

Rhulan kicks the little man sending him flying into the air.

A green *flash* and he is back on the trail.

"Oh so tis like that is it lassie? I may not look like I have much to offer, certainly not money. But perhaps knowledge…power…I have more magic than…"

"Mystic bolt," says Rhulan throwing the violet fiery energy with a flick of her wrist at the ground, "be gone yourself annoying creature."

Hollia looks down at the Leprechaun, "My apologies sir, I…don't know what you are talking about, however we are adventurers on a job. Perhaps you are under the influence

of something causing confusion here,"

She reaches into a sack, her arm going deeper than the sack should allow and pulls out a vile with a pink fluid inside, "Here sir, this is a status antidote, it will clear your head of what ever is confusing you."

Hollia sets the vile on the ground. As they walk off the confused Leprechaun picks up the vile, opens it and gives it a whiff.

"Potent magic," says the Leprechaun, "so they were both witches."

(#Fool!###) comes a harsh voice bringing pain to the Leprechaun, "I told you magic is what stands between you and the riches, those two are your enemy."

"Oh but I fancy the young virgin lass," says the Leprechaun.

"Then have her," says the voice, "the dark sorceress is your opponent. She is my enemy. Destroy her and all the wealth shall be yours!"

The Leprechaun spins and vanishes.

He appears again, suddenly however he finds a cape wrapped around him, he is scooped up smashed into the ground and thrown from the cape into the air. He lands and tumbles a short distance before standing and dusting himself off.

"That was unexpected," says the Leprechaun pulling a sword from his tiny cane.

Rhulan, Hollia, and Lin Lin are clearly ready for battle, Lin Lin's head back like a snake ready to strike and Hollia having summoned her staff holding it before her.

"You know," says Rhulan, "your master really shouldn't speak to your through the astral plane. Every mystical and magically trained individual and creature for miles felt his dark evil presence. No doubt at this moment numerous adventurers and creatures out to protect their territories are on their way to investigate."

"I do not scare so easily," says the Leprechaun, "nor scar so easily witch. Have at thee!"

He shoots a green bolt, it changes direction and goes into Rhulan's hand instead of at Hollia where he aimed.

"what?" says the Leprechaun as the energy becomes a green fire in Rhulan's hand and is snuffed out as she closes her fist.

"A transportation spell?" asks Rhulan, "trying to kidnap Hollia?"

"I thought you only an old man," says Hollia, "I see now you're a demon! As a priestess of the goddess I can not allow you to taint our land with your evil!"

Hollia's staff glows white.

"What is this light?" demands the Leprechaun shielding his eyes, which start to boil and steam, "Why…why does it hurt!?"

Hollia's Light of Banishment fades away leaving the Leprechaun steaming but still intact.

"What happened?" asks Hollia.

"He is not a true demon," says Rhulan, "at least not the kind that can be sent away by such a spell. However clearly he is not an…elite demon, or something that would be immune. He was harmed, just not sent away. No doubt that evil that spoke to him has anchored him to this world for some task."

"True, so true," says the Leprechaun who with preternatural speed, strength, and an unnatural cry leaps into the air at Rhulan.

She grabs him by the throat, her movements too fast for him to see.

He smiles, the blade of his sword extending. He feels his cane kick back in his hand. The blade tip has met a blue spot, an energy barrier against her body. The corset like top however displays another trick as thin shadowy tendrils come from it and wrap around the cane ripping it from his hands and throwing it to the ground.

"What manner of witch are you?" asks the Leprechaun through gritted teeth.

"I am a sorceress," says Rhulan as her hand glows with violet flames followed by, "Mystic Blast."

The beam consumes the Leprechaun, and blasts a small crater in the path.

"What was that about?" asks Hollia.

"That voice," says Rhulan, "It felt familiar…hmmm, yes, a demon I fought once a very long time ago."

"Is it…" starts Hollia.

"No," says Rhulan, "this is unrelated, something older, something I slew fairly easily. However it comes to mind quickly thanks to the dimension gate."

"The gate?" asks Hollia worried, "but all we fought was a giant insect."

"It's the reason I had the project shut down," says Rhulan, "a demon had arrived on Aesperia, claiming my actions had unbalanced the supposed balance between good and evil. I slew it and shut down the dimension gate project. There were no other intrusions…that I was aware of."

"You believe using the gate…brought that…thing here?"

Rhulan puts her hand to her check, index finger pointed behind her eye in thought, "I can't be certain. It could just be coincidence. After all this demon was far weaker than the one I fought before, and didn't seem to be nearly so focused. It could just be a coincidence, however the chance does exist of the gate being keyed to this. But given all the transportation between this reality and other realities of late it does seem unlikely that if this enemy is such a force that could sense the gate that it wouldn't have sensed a different portal…our visit to Dark World could just as easily for example have been the key. I will need to see into this."

Hollia nods, she was expecting Rhulan to turn back towards Stratalia and is caught off guard as Rhulan continues towards Agate Town.

"Like I said," says Rhulan seeing Hollia's confusion, "it's more likely to be our trip to a demon world or any number of similar portals. When we do return I'll look into the gateway's controls to see if that demon jumped off its signal. But given it came to us, there is no reason to deviate from our normal agenda."

"Yes Miss Rhulan," says Hollia following.

Lin Lin looks down at the staff which begins to pulsate and flies down quickly to smash it with an electrically charged tail smack.

"You coming Lin Lin?" calls back Hollia.

Lin Lin *chirps* and catches up quickly.

Elsewhere in darkness a green light forms into the shape of the Leprechaun.

"A new body," says the swirling darkness before him, "we have learned much from your battle."

The Leprechaun senses movement behind him in this gray dark place and sees, Jason Voorhees sitting on the ground holding a rather annoyed Chucky like a toy, Freddy Krueger standing in the corner with an oddly concerned expression, and a very large red devil who looks ready to smash the head of anyone he can.

"My children," says the darkness, "prepare for war."


	32. Chapter 32: Rhulan vs JC's Thing

A great blue sigil appears upon the frozen land of barren stone and ice. Arising like a divinity from the archaic symbol is Rhulan, a faint blue glow about her body protecting her all too human physiology from the intense cold of this frigid place. Rhulan reaches into her cape pulling out a hexagonal communication device.

"Miss Rhulan," comes the voice of Hollia over the device, "is it safe?"

Rhulan shakes her head remembering Jasma and Tyros' reactions to their report over the giant mantis and then the small demon that attacked them the day before.

"No," says Rhulan, "the gate didn't open into the right spot, I think this is Anarctica."

"Huh?" says Hollia.

"The equivalent of the Frozen Land."

"Oh," says Hollia, "are you alright?"

"Yeah," says Rhulan, "my Celestial Aura is protecting me, I don't recommend anyone follow me…huh…"

"What is Miss Rhulan?"

"Lights, I do believe there is human habitation here…and something else is tingling my senses."

"A demon?"

"No…but it's very alien, I am going to investigate."

*Sckraaaa!*

The dog's flesh peels back, the skinless teeth filled abomination lashes out grabbing onto the human ripping into his flesh dragging him into the snow. Others nearby shoot at the thing, barely causing it to flinch as it clamps down. Unseen to any of these, standing invisible on the roof is Rhulan, however the faint glow of her Celestial Aura in the snow briefly draws the attention of another human as he runs out with a flamethrower. With a few bursts the dog like abomination releases the body and squirms off like some muscle tissue squid.

"Quick!" yells one of the thick coated men, "before it gets away!"

"Inferno Blast!"

The voice of a woman (Rhulan) stops the people in their tracks, well the massive cone of white hot flame shooting down from somewhere above in the snow more so.

The ice is melted, and the stone below is steaming. There is no sign of the thing. However like a ghost Rhulan appears before them.

"Who…what are you?" asks the man in charge.

"Really?" says Rhulan, "that old line? Any who,"

She forms a glowing red sphere in her hand, "Fire Sphere!"

With a toss and a mighty *kaboom!* she blasts apart the mangled body.

"Why would you do that?" asks one of the men.

"The life form was in the meat infecting it." she says, "I can sense it, speaking of which."

She turns to one of the men, "Combust."

This man standing near the back bursts into flames, his screams are far from human, and his body distorts, his neck stretching as if it could escape the flames.

"My God," says the only woman among the local humans.

Rhulan looks around, "I don't sense anymore of this life form around here. Well, that's done. I suppose I've had my fun. This place is of no use to me. I suggest you leave as well…unless you made that thing in which case shoot yourselves."

She smiles and vanishes into thin air. She takes herself high into the atmosphere before opening the portal back to Aesperia.

"What just happened?" asks the lead man in the snow.

"Another alien?" suggests one of the men.

"We may never know," says the woman.

"Yeah, we'll just put that in our report," says the man shaking his head.


	33. Chapter 33: Jin the Archer vs Jason

*Intermediate events: three years have passed since the last attack, many adventures have been had. Now the darkness begins its attack anew*

The full moon shines upon the crystal clear surface of the pristine lake. On the shore a blanket is shared by a man in simple armor, his broadsword sitting by the edge of the blanket. By the man's side is a simple peasant woman, her smile however might as well be coming from the goddess herself in the heart of this man. The tranquil scene is cut short by the sound of splashing, they look up to see a tall strange man walking from the water. His gait is slow, his face covered in a strange white mask, and held in his hand an odd short blade, he is clothed in odd rags alien to them.

"Shiro," says the woman getting up.

"Stay back Chohiro," says the man having grabbed his sword as he stands in front of her.

"Who are you?" demands the man.

The silent figure comes forth and brings down his blade.

The man blocks it and struggles a little.

*thwack*

An arrow strikes the large man in the shoulder.

Shiro jumps back.

The source of the arrow is a steely eyed man, his green eyes matching his short shaggy green hair. Green would seem to be the man's theme as his tunic and pants are also green; although his gloves, boots, belt, quiver, and bow are all brown leather.

"Take your woman back to town," says Jin, "we will discuss why you were not at your post later. I will deal with this creature."

Shiro and Chohiro run off, the man who rose from the lake starts in their direction.

*thwack*

An arrow to the leg, and in the blink of an eye Jin has another arrow ready to go.

"Surrender demon," says Jin, "I sensed your arrival in the lake. Your demonic aura betrayed your arrival. Know this, you are no match for me, surrender and you will be escorted to Stratalia and sent back to your own world. Resist and I will destroy you."

The monster raises its blade and heads towards him. Jin's arrow head glows blue.

*Thwack*

The arrow is lodged in the monsters left shoulder next to the earlier one.

*boom!*

The arrow head explodes in a blue flash, severing the monster's arm and taking out a piece of its torso. However it simply tilts its head and continues forward.

Jin leaps into the air, "Air Skimmer." he says as he slides through the air. Just before reaching the monster he jumps from the white stream of air and kicks the creature.

It flies back and lands on its back. Jin leaps over to it, his feet planted on either side of the monster's waist. His arrow, this one glowing even more brightly than the one before it is shot *thwack* into the monster's upper chest.

*kaboom!*

In a blue flash much of the chest has been blasted apart and the head shot off.

"Rest in piece zombie," says Jin.

The monster's right arm starts to lift up. Jin's trained eyes spot it immediately and he leaps into the air, arrow ready. His eyes glow as he says, "Steel Shot." His arrows turns to metal and with a mighty *thwack* impales the moving arm into the dirt like a steel rod.

Jin's highly trained eyes notice the body is slowly repairing its self. Jin fires several more steel shots, one into each ankle, one where the missing limb would be, and one where the now missing head would be. He places his bow over his torso and places his hands before him in an odd formation; something one may expect of a ninja rather than an archer. After a moment of silent concentration the steel shots glow with a fiery blue aura, and the point where they impale the ground a line shoots between them, a strange sigil forms beneath the body, yet does not prohibit its healing. Jin walks over and picks up the strange white mask which survived the explosion.

A cart covered in demon seal papers arrives in the courtyard of Stratalia. Several guards accompany the cart, including Jin. Meeting them here is a woman in white robes of a royal appearance or else that of a high priestess, her long brown hair done up in a bun. She holds a long white spiral staff with a glowing blue gem. Beside her is a large white serpentine divine dragon with a blue mane down its back and a lupine head with blazing blue eyes. On her other side is a tall woman wearing a black dress of royal design and holding a black staff with a red glowing gem, her staff however has four spikes around the gem, like the branches of a tree or the legs of a crab turned on its belly. Her long dark red hair is free to frame her face and cascade down her back.

Jin dismounts and pulls back the cover on the cart revealing a now fully regenerated monster, its clothes still tattered buts its flesh restored; its face however is still hideously disfigured. It is held in place via glowing threads of pink and violet energy, as well as the same sigil Jin had trapped it in before.

Jin bows before the two women, "Lady Holly Lia," he says to the woman in white, "Lady Rhulan," he says to the woman in black, "As I reported here is the demon I captured."

"By the goddess," says Hollia, "to think this thing regenerated and actually invaded a lake not far from here."

Jin gestures for one of his men to bring the white mask. Which is brought over to Jin, who stands to hand the mask himself to Hollia.

"Here is the mask it was wearing."

"Jason Voorhees," says Rhulan.

"You know this demon?" asks Hollia.

"Yes," says Rhulan, "I fought it once, ages ago in its own world…however…as I recall I incinerated it. Although my later research did reveal it to have seemingly unlimited regenerative properties, able to reform from ash in the dirt or even any small fragments left from re-entry into an atmosphere."

"What would this…Jason, be doing here?" asks Hollia.

Rhulan walks over and looks at it through glowing eyes, "Hollia, do you remember a few years ago when we were attacked by a small demon in a green costume outside of Agate Town."

"Yes," says Hollia, "we thought it might be related to the dimension gate project my mother was heading; however we only ever ran into that overgrown insect and you into…how did you describe it, a monster that infected life forms and turned them inside out?"

"Something like that," says Rhulan, "unlike what you and I encountered this one has the same residual aura as the tiny demon. Perhaps it is nothing, or perhaps we have an enemy that for whom time moves a bit differently."

"I see," says Hollia,

She turns to Jin, "thank you Commander Jin we will attend to this matter and this demon personally."

Jin bows and he and his men remount, disconnecting from the cart, and leave.

Hollia looks around and unties her bun allowing her hair to fall free.

"Thank the goddess," says Rhulan, "I thought you'd leave that bun in all day. I much prefer your hair down."

Hollia smiles, "Professional up, private down…Miss Rhulan," she says the last part with a flirty smile. Lin Lin shrinks down from her large form, back to a tiny form small enough to fit in one's lap. She floats over to a patch of grass, rolls up, and takes a nap.

"So then," says Rhulan, "what to do with the movie monster,"

"Oh yeah," says Hollia holding the mask, "I thought this mask looked familiar, and oh…right…Jason…okay…which one was that again?"

"Friday the 13th," says Rhulan, "Count Vampyre was rather adamant about this movie series. Personally I can't stand any past the first ten or so."

"Not sure I saw past the first eight, those movie things are so weird."

"Indeed," says Rhulan, "but say that around Count Vampyre and he might give us a history lesson about this guy, I think in the end there were over twenty films before they stopped or something."

"Shall I consult with the goddess?" asks Hollia, "it is giving off a demonic aura and from what we know it shouldn't be able to dimension hop on its own."

"You do that," says Rhulan, "I will call up Count Vampyre in the meantime and get the specifics on this thing's abilities through out the films. Granted movies can't be trusted to be one hundred percent accurate to a real version, but it should give us something; hell if nothing else that movie collector nut might want to take this thing off our hands."

And so it was, the goddess granted Hollia a vision stating that destroying Jason would only return it to the well of evil which spawned it and sent it to their world. Rhulan's idea worked out; the pasty faced cliché classical vampire attired Count Vampyre was more than happy to take Jason off their hands, even giving the nearly mindless creature a mask from Count Vampyre's own collection, fitting a style of one of the movies that was his personal favorite of the series. Back in Eastern Croix, Count Vampyre had an artificial lake dug, with a massive wall built around the area (with a little bit of forest in it) that reached high into the air and deep into the ground, even forming a dome beneath the lake. Mystical seals placed along the parameter as further containment. So it is that that the infamous Jason Voorhees has become part of the collection of what may be the biggest movie nut in existence.


	34. Chapter 34: Lana vs Freddy

In a sleepy little town, nestled away near the corner of the protective wall separating this quiet town from the forests and defending it against bandits is a quaint church with a white plus sign type cross adorning the bell tower. A simple peasant woman in her old world clothing and her son a simple dressed lad in tunic and pants enter the church. Inside they are met by a young lady in white robes, a white hood, and a blue apron with the white cross on it.

"Welcome to the Church of the White Cross," says the woman, "I am priestess Lana how may we assist you?"

The woman nudges her son who opens his shirt to reveal four scratches across his torso.

"Oh my," says Lana, "did you have a run in with a bear on an adventure young man?"

"No," says the boy, "It was…"

The mother nudges him, "go on,"

"It's embarrassing," says the boy, *sigh*, "fine, it was this…guy, but it was in a dream. This weird guy…he looked burned up, had these claws on his hand, and was wearing a weird winter wool tunic and a hat. He said…." The boy shakes his head, "this guy said he was going to kill all the children in Elm Town. I mean really, I'm fourteen, old enough to go to war and this guy calls me a child."

"I'm sorry priestess," says the woman, "as you can see the incident has hurt my son's pride…as well as leaving him with this mark."

"A dream demon attacked you young man?" asks Lana.

"Yeah," says the boy.

"I see," says Lana, "please come with me."

The young man is first taken to the infirmary where with a simple gesture the gorgeous attendant there's hands glow white, as she waves them over the flush faced young man's chest the slash marks heal.

Priestess Lana leads them then to another chamber where she has the young man lay down in the middle of a septagram patterned mystic circle glowing on the floor.

"Now," says Lana, "we will put you into a state of sleep, the magic circle will protect you and draw out the dream demon."

The boy looks to his mother who nods. He lies down a bit reluctantly.

Lana chants,

"By the light of the goddess of dreams

I weave the tapestry of sleep upon you."

The boy is instantly asleep. Lana nods to a nearby young female attendant only saying to her, "bring item B-12". The young attendant silently nods and leaves.

Lana holds out her hands and chants,

"Great Weaver of Dreams,

Mighty goddess of all sleep

In thy name I contain and summon forth the demon that inflicts this youth!

Dream Weaver's chains!"

In the dreamscape the boy is standing in the woods when the man appears.

"We meet again," says the man, "come and give ole uncle Freddy a nice big…"

A blue septagram appears beneath him.

"No!" screams Freddy, "not again, not fucking again!"

His feet are stuck like glue as glowing blue chains rise from the septagram, wrapping around his arms and legs and waist. They pull him screaming down into the sigil.

In the real world the sigil glows and out rises Freddy Krueger, held tight by the glowing chains. At this time the young attendant returns and hands Lana a black box.

"Let me go!" yells Freddy, "When I get free I am going to kill every mother fucking one of you! Every fucking kid in this town is dead!"

The mother is looking at her boy still sleeping just behind this horrible creature. Freddy looks back at the kid and back at the mother and smiles, "Hey, bitch, your brat…he's dead, I am going to carve him up like a thanksgiving turkey!"

His threat leaves her a bit confused, seeing as she has no idea what a thanksgiving is or a turkey for that matter. But the context is clear.

"Fear not," says Lana as she pulls a dagger with a flat blue blade with a white edge and white runes along the blade from the red velvet interior of the black box, "the demon can not move, and it will be exterminated promptly."

As she steps into the circle with the dagger Freddy laughs.

"Bitch please, I'm Freddy Krueger! I can't die! Oh you people think I can, time and again you pull me from the dream world and stab me, cut my head off, set me on fire, but I always come back! Freddy is never dead! Ha haaa haaa haaa,"

Lana says nothing as she approaches Freddy Krueger and stabs him in the heart with the dagger. Freddy's smile fades as a new sensation comes over him, his physical body isn't just falling dead like all the times before, no it's glowing instead like a white mist about his body that looks to be vibrating. His eyes and mouth shoot out blue and white beams as he silently screams. His body pulsates blue and white and suddenly flies apart as blue and white sparkling dust which hovers a moment before being sucked intensely into the blade.

The chains vanish and the circle fades to its normal glow. Lana leans down and taps the boy on the cheek saying, "Awaken,"

He wakes up a bit confused.

"The demon is no more," says Lana, "you have been freed of its curse, as have any future victims."

"Thank you," says the mother, "I'd hug you if it weren't inappropriate, thank you, thank you."

"Our pleasure," says Lana as she turns and puts the dagger back into the box, a glint of reflection of Freddy's face in the blade, contorted in pain and dissolving, something only Lana sees.

After the mother and son leave, leaving a sizable donation in the prayer box outside and ringing the donation bell, Lana and the young attendant return the box to the archive room opening cabinet B and placing the box back in slot 12, a slot labeled [Dream Eater Blade].

Beyond the veil, inside the blade in a land of blue mist Freddy Krueger is struggling to hold on as his body melts and comes apart, a futile struggle as his very essence is being digested away by the blue mist and blue liquid around his ankle. He falls down, his feet are no more, his face peels off. This is a pain greater than anything he has ever felt, and for once in his horrid undead existence he feels true fear as the emotionless yet pulsating with life essence of the blade digests him.


	35. Chapter 35:Adventurers of Croix vs Devil

Not much has changed in these last three years, well except now when Ethan wakes up he can expect not two but four women fighting over him and invading the kitchen. Thankfully he no longer lives in that same small house he did before but now in a fairly large property by the side of a lake with his own fields. He still can't believe it as he looks out the window, just three years ago he was starting out as an adventurer, in such a short time his party has over thrown a corrupt Baron, fend off a secret society, fought along side legendary beings, and become famous adventurers with more high class jobs available to them then they know what to do with.

He puts on his gear as he goes down stairs, there met by a virtual harem, Janet is ready in her red witch outfit, Rebecca in her blue witch outfit, they haven't changed styles since their adventures began, back then it would just be the three of them, but now Dreia the green skinned Dryad Elf girl is waiting and so is Haru the Wolf-Girl, her ears perked up to match her cute face as she waits at the bottom of the stairs like a puppy waiting for her master.

"Shameless," says Dreia as she sips her morning green tea.

Haru sticks out her tongue.

"We ready?" asks Ethan.

"Not until you eat something," scolds Janet, "I didn't slave over a hot stove this morning for you to skip breakfast."

He looks at the table, instant pastries, a new food for adventurers that cooks its self.

"Of course," says Ethan as he sits at the table, Haru grabbing up a seat next to him, her tail wagging. Dreia glances over as she sips her tea again.

After breakfast the group is heading down the road, Haru waving by enthusiastically to the servants working the fields that morning. A little ways down the road they meet Zanaz and Andria, truthfully they too have a large property not far from Ethan's home, both houses awarded to them by the Empire, and they suspect put close together so they can easily meet up for jobs, which both teams are often sent together on thanks to reputation preceding them in the senate and elite families as a duo team. As they meet up Andria hugs onto Zanaz's arm and eyes Ethan.

Ethan *sighs* all these years and she is still like that. He remembers a few years ago Andria actually saying to him, "You have this whole harem of girls, you are not adding my pretty boy to it."

"All these years," thinks Ethan, "and she still buys into that stupid rumor."

"Lets be off," says Zanaz in his usual steady voice, "the Magistrate should not be left waiting."

-A week earlier-

Deep beneath the earth in a massive dark forgotten cavern adorned with giant statues of tentacle faced horrors a rift appears in space, a red glow emanating from the crack in the darkness. The large figure of a devil emerges, his red skin glistening in the red light, his massive black horns racking the darkness.

"Sweet darkness," says the devil as torches illuminate the area when he speaks despite his words praising darkness.

He takes a deep *sniff* and lets an orgasmic *sigh*

"Mmmm, such delicious evil fills this place."

The sound of scurrying draws his attention as swarms of red skinned goblins come out of the darkness around him. He smiles, the glint of evil in his eyes.

-Now-

"That is how it has been," says the chubby mayor of this small town in the outskirts of Tracia Kingdom where the magistrate sent them, the ones who hired them for this job, Ethan and Zanaz alone in the office with him, "for the last week every night goblins have been attacking the farmlands, small houses, they are even wearing armor and using swords and arrows. We've never seen anything like it."

That scene plays in their heads as they head for the dark tunnel, behind them a trail of dead or nearly so goblins and scattered weapons, some burnt, some slashed, some entangled in vines or else smashed through trees and stone; all a clear sign of an intense battle that the goblins were ill prepared for from their harassment of villagers. As they travel further down they find the darkness quickly gives way to magically lit torches.

Goblins swarm up the stairs. Zanaz and Ethan nod to the group. Andria pulls from her bag a vile and tosses it at the foot by the snarling weapon brandishing goblins. A purple mist explodes from it.

"Psionic Pulse!" yells out Rebecca the blue witch, sending forth the attack from the blue orb of her cane. The pulse knocks back the goblins and blows the miasma bomb's gas over them. In mere moments the attacking group is dead.

*hmph!* goes Andria, "why'd Tracia go all out to hire such a large group of adventurers for such low level monsters?"

Zanaz and Ethan look at each other remembering what else the mayor had said, "one adventurer who chased after them said they reported back to seeing a giant red goblin with massive bull horns. It might be a demon, but we don't want to panic anyone, so in the off chance he was mistaken this will be an extermination job, you know take out the rogue goblin troop and chase off any others from trying the same, if he wasn't mistaken then having a large group with such a…impressive background will surely be enough to take care of some goblin king."

"What?!" shouts Haru her voice echoing down the halls, Dreia quickly putting her hand over Haru's mouth.

Ethan looks back to see Rebecca's staff was touching his shoulder, and is glowing, everyone saw and heard his memory.

"We're going to have a talk about this later," says Dreia, "but for now I do believe everything knows we're here."

"Swowwy" says Haru through Dreia's hand before *licking* her palm and sending a shiver down Dreia's spine.

"You taste sweet," says Haru with a wide grin, "Ethan not been visiting you?"

"I didn't want to worry any of you," says Ethan, "it's probably not anything."

"Worry now," says Zanaz as a fire bursts up from the floor of the wide room they just walked into. Standing where the fire burst is the devil.

"Or," says Ethan, "that guy was right and there is a demon and if we survive this I am buying you all lunch to apologize."

"I'll take a bath with…" says Haru before Janet chimes in, "This isn't the time Haru,"

"So," says the devil looking at them with a smug expression on his face, "it is not the empress who comes to greet me this time. Yessss, like last time some would be heroes, however last time she arrived much quicker. So will you die before she arrives to save you?"

"What is he talking about?" asks Haru.

Zanaz calmly says, "an ancient demon, no doubt he means *The Empress*."

"Huh," says Ethan with a smile, "so you figure this is one of those, some hero trapped the monster along time ago, but somehow or thanks to someone the seal has been loosened or lost and it's free." The image in Ethan's head being of a cartoon man ripping a seal off a rock for toilet paper while out on an adventure and a black horned thing appearing from under the rock.

"Close," says the devil, "but come on, show me what you can do."

"Spread out!" commands Ethan, Zanaz nods to Andria who rushes to one side Dreia goes the same way to support her, Janet and Rebecca another, Haru however rushes at the devil.

"Iron Claw!" yells out Haru leaping at the devil. He backhands her, she *yipes* as she flies through the air. She flips and lands on her feet skidding back, stopping just before the wall.

"Iron Vines!" yells out Dreia,

"Shadow Entangle!" yells out Andria.

Vines of metal and vines of shadow spring forth from the ground and wrap around the devil.

"Psy-Ball!" yells out Rebecca shooting a blue sphere from her staff at the devil, closely followed by a "Fire Rocket!" from Janet. Both explode on the devil.

"Did we get him?" asks Janet.

The smoke clears and the devil is unharmed, with a burst of flame and a flexing of muscle he destroys the magic vines around him.

He lets out a disturbingly orgasmic *sigh* and *roars* a thunder echoing off the ceiling somehow.

"Pitiful," says the devil, "yet impressive, unfortunately for you I am the eternal prince of darkness! *thunder*. You mere mortals can not hope to defeat me, no matter how great your powers are."

Ethan and Zanaz exchange (the look), its trump card time!

Ethans chants over his sword, the blade glowing green. Zanaz leaps high into the air and does a spin with a sweeping leg yelling out, "Necro Arc!"

The green arc of energy comes down at the devil who doesn't even try to block it, much to his dismay as he winces and takes a step back as the arc cuts into his flesh leaving a bleeding mark over his side.

"Necro Slash!" yells out Ethan who comes down, slashing across the devil's chest making it unleash a *thunderous roar*. Ethan leaps back.

The devil is pissed, the bleeding lines however are only skin deep.

"Good show," says the devil standing up right as though unharmed, "but your best is not enough."

"Keep him busy," says Ethan as he holds his blade sideways, it glowing with green mist as he chants. Zanaz leaps back into the shadows next to Andria.

Haru summons a blue sigil before her, "Summon Light Doves!"

A small group of Light Doves appears and flocks at the devil glowing.

"Raaaaahhhh!" roars the devil, "Accursed holy light!"

His body flames up as he swings at the doves, kills several, the rest vanishing thanks to the summon spell.

"Razor Wind of the Sacred Grove!" yells out Dreia summoning a blizzard of green

razor's edge sharp leaves to swarm over the devil.

Andria throws a Miasma Bomb at the devil clouding his vision but not harming him.

Janet stands back realizing her fire magic makes her useless in this battle, however she does chant a "Magic Attack Increase" spell on Ethan and Rebecca.

"Psychic Mist!" yells out Rebecca summoning a blue fog around the devil.

"Enough!" roars the devil echoing thunder as fire shoots up consuming the leaves. He takes a deep sucking breath sucking in the miasma and Psychic mist.

He *sighs* "poison of the body and mind, such a sweet taste."

"Eat this!" yells Ethan, "Necro Sphere!"

The mist had gathered before his blade into the shape of a sphere, and with a mighty push against it, it flies off like a rocket.

The devil takes a swing at the green ball, the skin on his knuckles and fingers peels off leaving his hand bloody; however he did manage to punch through it.

"All that distraction," says the devil, "for that?"

"No," says Andria pulling the shadows away from hiding Zanaz, "for this!"

Zanaz had been charging up a massive focus of necro-energy in his palms.

"Necro Beam!" yells Zanaz unleashing the attack.

The massive beam of green energy comes over the devil, his body inside the beam starts to wither into a skeleton, he yells out as loud as he can through decaying lungs, "Father! Save me!"

A red energy comes over the devil, his body quickly regenerates and with a mighty roar and explosion of red energy, during which he sprouts massive red and black wings that throws everyone back with the shockwave he disperses the attack. He stands now unharmed, his opponents on their backs.

"Damn," says Ethan, "we have to retreat we…"

Haru remembers the Light Doves and how it felt like the light was genuinely hurting this monster, however before she can speak a massive red sigil with a demonic goat skull symbol in the center appears behind them blocking the exit.

"We're trapped," says Rebecca.

"Then why is the bull goblin man scared?" asks Haru pointing at the devil.

"Because of me," comes a woman's voice inside the sigil.

Floating from the sigil is a woman with blue skin, black short hair, weirdly aerodynamic horns on her temples above her pointed ears. This woman wearing a weird black battle uniform floats forward with her hands crossed.

"No!" roars the devil charging at her, taking wing and summoning a sword."

The woman in the blink of an eye grabs the sword between two fingers, snaps it in half, and punches the devil in the top of his head slamming him chin first into the stone floor cracking it…and his teeth.

She puts her foot on his head. He struggles to rise, flapping his wings and pushing against the ground with his arms with all his might. But to the surprise of the party she doesn't even seem phased by it. She grabs the wings holding them still, this brings a look of utter fear in the devil's eyes.

"Wings," says the woman, "cute, guess this means we can play some new games."

"bitch…" mutters the devil.

The woman turns to the party, "so what have we here,"

Before anyone can speak the woman turns her gaze towards a blue archaic glowing sigil that has appeared on the floor nearby, rising like a ghost from the abyss is Rhulan, in her usual sorceress attire."

Rhulan looks over the scene.

"That," says Zanaz rising to one knee as the rest of the party gets up, "*cough*, must be the empress the demon was talking about."

"Or she is," says Haru pointing at the blue woman.

"Endara," says Rhulan, "what brings you to Aesperia?..."

Rhulan looks at the devil, "oh….that looks…familiar…oh."

Janet whispers, "I think Rhulan the sorceress knows something."

"shhh," says Haru, "I don't want to miss anything."

"So," says Rhulan crossing her arms beneath her ample breasts, "What brings the Overlord of the False World here with…one of her toys. Did your pet get off its leash?"

"Hardly a pet," says Endara, "more a stuffed toy, Misaline made him into one for me after you left him for dead in my backyard."

Rhulan *shrugs*, "First place I could think of to get him off my doorstep."

"Oh, it's no problem," says Endara, "he's one of my favorite playthings, and when I track down the smoky bastard who took him away…like three years ago…making me have to revisit, and probably repay…I mean the warrantee has to be expired by now, Misaline, I am so going to find that smoky bastard, rip off his balls and shove them into his eye sockets!"

She said all that with a smile on her face. The look of shock on the party's faces would be priceless especially with Zanaz who always tries to keep a calm demeanor making everyone view him as a total bad-ass.

Endara's sigil vanishes from the doorway, and appears beneath her and the devil.

"Well, I'd love to chat," says Endara, "But I better get this guy to the doll shop and fixed back up before Misaline closes down for the day, tootles."

With that Endara with the devil underfoot sinks down through the sigil. It vanishes right behind them.

Rhulan opens a portal and is about to leave when Ethan says, "Wait up! I mean…your highness, I…"

Rhulan looks over their group, "huh…it's you guys again…how serendipitous."

"Uh…yeah," says Ethan, "so…I mean,"

Haru nudges him.

"Right sorry," says Ethan, "what was that? Who was that…Overlord you said? And who is…Misaline?"

Rhulan *sighs*, "Kid, forget you ever heard the name Misaline, crazy bitch would turn you into a nut cracker or a tiny puffy pink ball if she thought it would be funny…or cute…or what ever goes through her twisted little cute head. As for that woman, she is Overlord Endara Tarrata, the ruler of a Hell known as the False World, looks normal, but really a just a bunch of traps and such. Apparently after I…removed that demon from trying to invade this world and killed it in her hell she took what remained of it…I do believe it could regenerate endlessly, to….that sorceress I mentioned…any who, she turned him into a toy version of himself for Endara to play with…yeah she's crazy too."

Rhulan nods her head to the side slightly, "So am I really, kind of hard to be immortal with out being a little nuts. Any who, guess it got loose, got big again, came here to try and call me out. Heh, and you kids got to him first."

She turns back to her sigil gate and with one last, "till next time adventurers." she vanishes.

"We still get paid right?" asks Haru as the party walks away from the cave.

"I guess," says Janet.

"Well we didn't take down the big boss," says Rebecca.

"Not for lack of trying," jokes Ethan looking over at Zanaz who is just staring behind them at the battle field, likely pondering over what the hell just happened.

"We did," calmly says Dreia, "take out all those goblins,"

"Okay then," says Ethan, "first we collect and then its that lunch I promised you all."

"Isn't it dinner time?" asks Haru.

"Okay, dinner," says Ethan with a smile.

Andria and Zanaz are trailing behind a little bit.

Andria whispers to Zanaz, "is something wrong dear?"

"We," says Zanaz, "are adventurers, mortals just making a living in what little time we have. We shouldn't be getting involved in the affairs of devils and gods."

"We had no way of knowing," whispers Andria as reassuredly as she can, knowing that her man's strongest attack had failed back there.

"Half a day," says Zanaz thinking over how long it took to get to Tracia and then out here and fight, "no…even a few minutes later, those two didn't appear because of us. They came after that devil, if we had arrived later we wouldn't have had to have nearly gotten killed fighting an unkillable monster."

"Well," says Andria holding his arm, while watching to make sure no one is looking back, "they didn't appear until after it bru….used a last ditch effort to survive your attack. Maybe that energy…maybe it knew, that lead them both right to it. So our showing up and forcing it to fight at that level did save the day…by attracting something…some things that could take it down. If not who knows for how much longer it would have terrorized the country side before either of those…people…figured out where it was hiding."

Zanaz mulls this over as Andria lets go of his arm as they catch up with the rest of the group before anyone wanders why they are dragging heels so far behind them.

"I suppose," says Zanaz taking one last look back at the charred area and dead goblins, less than there was before implying some survived and fled when they had the chance.

He remembers the scene, the devil, Endara, Rhulan.

"I suppose," he thinks to himself as they walk along, "but everyone in that room could have killed us all, and that woman easily took down what we barely stood up against…and Rhulan." His mind shows an image of her floating covered in dark red flames…. "she spoke to that…Endara on equal terms…she's more monstrous than I thought…No Zanaz put it out of your head man, adventurer, bandits, goblins, maybe the occasional dragon, none of this higher order crazy celestial and demonic shit, it doesn't concern us we fight we get paid, we live, repeat."

"You know," says Zanaz looking at Andria, the tone in his voice making her blush.

He shakes his head, "Never mind,"

"When we get home," says Andria in a sweet whisper, "we can talk then."

At dinner Haru says between bites of mutton, "I could have taken that big red guy, yep, I was going to use the holy light spell and totally kick its ass."

Ethan, Rebecca, Janet, and Dreia stop eating and look at her.

"Yeah," says Haru as she takes another bite and gulps it down with her drink, "it was totally hurt by those Light Doves, I could smell it, that's why he went all crazy, I bet he was like you know like a shadow demon and holy light would totally kick his big red ass."

The others just look at each other pondering in their own minds if she was right and remembering what happened earlier that day.


	36. Chapter 36: Tiny Assassins

In the dark of the night evil will find you, sleeping soundly in your beds, defenseless, harmless, as silent footfalls of tiny feet descend upon the floor beside your unsuspecting frames soon to end your lives.

The moon shines through the window cascading over a nightstand upon which sits a small stuffed doll, a humanoid big headed white cat wearing a purple dress and two shark fin like structures on the back its head, even though it also has normal cat-ears. A tiny figure on the floor, having just appeared from a red flash stares at it thinking, "what the fuck am I in a little girl's room".

This tiny figure steps into the light, it is a grotesque gingerbread man with a deformed head, and even weirder is holding a revolver. It climbs up the nightstand to get a better look at the woman sleeping in the large bed with the purple covers. From up here he can see how lavish this large room really is.

"A shame," says the creature looking at this ravishing beauty snuggling a pillow against her ample chest, "the bitch is hot."

He aims his revolver, and fires. For a moment he mistakes her dark red hair for the blood stain or else thinks it lost there till he notices her hand is raised, and held between two fingers with a slight blue glow is the bullet. Her eyes shoot open and red hexagram sigils project from her silent gaze, fading inches from her face. The little gingerbread monster finds himself stuck on the night stand, held tight by that same sigil below his feet.

The woman silently rises from her bed, completely naked, her nakedness is short lived however as a shadow shoots out from under the bed and wraps around her forming her corset like top, pants, and boots. She gestures and her cape manifests on her back. She walks over, seemingly ignoring the paralyzed creature as she picks up her doll and places it on the bed, face down on the pillow.

With a *yawn*, she somehow grabs the edge of the sigil holding the creature and tosses it; instead of falling as the tiny man of bread was expecting it floats down to the floor.

"So you are the demon sent this time?" asks Rhulan, "have to say I am very disappointed."

She leans down and plucks the gun from it, "pitiful,"

She stand and with a disgusting *squish* she stomps on the little thing crushing it into a bloody paste.

"Sick," says Rhulan, "that thing actually had blood in it?"

With a gesture the red sigil glows and draws the remains into as it spins.

Rhulan smiles, "garbage removal sigil…heh…fitting for such low level trash."

Her cape vanishes, as does her clothes as she returns to her bed. She picks up the doll holding it like a baby by her breasts a moment smiling at her prized possession before putting it back on the night stand. With a *yawn* she lies back down.

The goddess appears before her as she lies down, once again taking a mirrored form of Rhulan only with long black wavy hair and wearing a black star speckled ethereal dress.

*So glad to see you followed my plan* projects the goddess.

As Rhulan grabs up the pillow in her embrace and nestles her chin on it she says, "If not for Hollia's trust in you I would not have agreed to this plan."

The clip clop of little shoes upon a wooden floor and a snickering from an ugly little leprechaun, stop short in the hallway as the little abomination of magic sees a woman standing in the middle of the hall. She looks harmless enough, a short woman with her purple hair cut short and wearing a black and white maid's uniform. She just stands there expressionless, if not for her face tilting down to see the little man he may have thought her a statue.

"Just a maid," says the leprechaun, "however lassie you've seen me now, so a shame it be you have be gotten rid of."

"Analyzing opponent," says the woman, "aura analysis complete. Bio-sign astral quality weakness detected."

"What?" says the Leprechaun, "are you simple in the head?"

"Matching bio-sign astral quality." says the maid as she starts to glow green and walk towards the leprechaun.

"Gahk!" says the Leprechaun feeling weak, "How the hell did you do that? It's like you're made of four leaf clovers, I…I can't move. Damn woman let me go!"

She has picked up the nearly paralyzed leprechaun.

"Additional…correction, fatal weakness in astral quality detected in otherwise superbly defended magical life form."

As she carries the paralyzed leprechaun like a bag of garbage she opens a window, stands on the sill, a task that seems impossible, especially given her dainty shoes, and leaps out and upward, turning using only momentum to change direction in mid-air to land on the roof. She races at incredible speeds over the roofs of Stratalia, leaping from building to building, leaping off the end of the west gate and running down a dirt road. Had she not being going about a hundred miles per hour and it not been night time the leprechaun may have recognized the spot where he was dealt with before years earlier. This time however the woman races past this point, around Agate Town coming to a cemetery with an iron fence around it.

"Hold on!" shouts the Leprechaun just as the woman is about the impale him on an iron pole.

"Why?" says the woman with little to no emotion.

"Well," says the Leprechaun, "don't you know the rules? If you catch a leprechaun you get three wishes. Isn't there anything you want lassie…"

"I am not called Lassie." says the woman.

"No hard feelings of course, tell me your name and I'll call you by that instead."

"I am Amara," she says.

"Beautiful name," says the Leprechaun, "now Amara, tell me what you want and I will grant it."

"I want what the mistress wants." she says.

"Oh and what is that?"

"Your death," says Amara coldly as she stabs the leprechaun onto an iron pole with out a second's more hesitation.

The Leprechaun screams as its body explodes in light.

As Amara turns to head back to Stratalia she says to herself, "Note: demonic target attempted stalling and bargaining tactics. As expected."

The darkness of the bushes outside the high brick walls of Stratalia conceals two diminutive forms, the light of the moon revealing them as they try to sneak across the lawn. They are the tiny terrors known as Chucky, and his bride.

They are able to go undetected crossing the lawn and climbing up the side of the wall to the window whose location and image was practically burned into their memory by their dark master. They were warned to remain silent, in fact their dark master threatened to sew their mouths shut if they couldn't handle this.

The window is open slightly allowing the summer night wind in, they quietly push the window open, a minor creak. The bride raises her stubby little plastic finger to her bloated red plastic lips in a *shush* gesture. Sleeping in the bed is Hollia, her hair cascading over the pillow, her bust pushing up against the sheets as she breathes.

"Easy," whispers Chucky pulling out his knife as he steps over the white sheets from the stand next to the bed.

A twisted look comes over his face as he plunges the knife into the chest of the sleeping body.

"Easy kill," he says.

The form vanishes, floating away like white cherry blossoms of light caught in the wind. The knife falls on the bed.

"What the fuck?" asks Chucky.

*mmhph!*

The muffled scream of the bride draws his attention, but in time to see her whisked out the window wrapped in Lin Lin's coils like the prey of a boa constrictor. In the open air Lin Lin bites onto the bride's head. Her lupine jaws glowing with blue flames, her body also in blue flames. She blasts a Spirit Flame at point blank…less so given part of the bride's head was in her mouth, incinerating the doll as the blast goes through her own coils.

Inside Chucky leaps to the floor only to find himself blinded by a white light. When it passes the doll is flying flat on the ground, the ghost of Charles Lee Ray however stands in the room facing Hollia standing there in her white sorceress attire and holding her traditional battle staff.

"I have freed you of the cursed existence to be forever reborn in that doll body," she says as her staff glows white again, "now go to the other side where you belong."

The light of her staff blinds the ghost of Charles Lee Ray. The next thing he is aware of is whiteness all around him and a sensation of floating, which is quickly gone as everything turns red and black chains wrap around him dragging him down into flames and the sounds of screams.

Not long after Hollia with Lin Lin on her shoulders is sneaking to the room Rhulan is staying in while at Stratalia. Using a silence spell she opens the door, she knows full well the spell will alert Rhulan of an intruder but also that the energy activating the spell is like a fingerprint so she will know who is coming in. As she enters Amara is coming in through the window and Rhulan is leaning on her elbow smiling.

The scene in the vortex of darkness goes out unexpectedly.

"Something is interfering with me." says the swirling smoky darkness.

Beside him emerges the infamous sorcerer Skelletor who laughs his oh too recognizable laugh, "Pitiful, those were your best monsters? Truly pitiful, one became a pet to a vampire after losing to a single archer and the rest were massacred."

"That is why I am now calling for the most evil master of magic…however it does not change the fact that my minions tonight were clearly expected, and was not I who just now terminated the signal."

"A spy? Here?" says Skeletor.

Far in the corner of this room that one may think is a dark space hidden, almost too small to be noticed is a micro sized Avi-wraith coiled up watching all that has transpired. On the receiving end of this dark spirit hidden even from the so called master of evil is a dark pool which is being watched by a dark figure whose silhouette shows a tall athletically built woman with very high and long spiky hair. Her features hidden in darkness, or perhaps made of darkness, her eyes, the entire eyes, flash like blue headlights briefly as she watches the scene of the evil one contemplating yet another plan to seek its revenge.


	37. Chapter 37: King of Halloween

A gnarled, twisted, vine claw of a hand waves through the darkness across a dimly lit floating screen. The light of which barely illuminates enough of the room to tell that there is a well dressed figure sitting in a very large lounge chair.

"The Hell of Fall, ruled by a Fear Demon" comes a deep raspy voice from the mostly hidden figure as it waves its unfitting hand across the screen again, "Halloween Town, ruled by a nicely dressed skeleton with an oddly flexible skull,"

It waves its hand again and again, "Halloween Towns, more Halloween towns, oh a Halloween land controlled by a Scary Godmother, oh and more jokes of Halloween towns…"

The screen goes blue showing nothing but this light, shining upon a very large Jack-O-Lantern head, a fire kicking up inside to illuminate the eyes and mouth.

"Oh what shape I have, ages past the fear, the darkness, I was a thing of horror, hook limbs, armor, skull head, bat wings, oh the fear did soak into me across the infinite for this time of year the veil did feed me such delicious fears…"

He stands, fully into the light. He is dressed in a suit, a thin body, his arms are woven thick dark green vines that come into claw like hands, his head a carved pumpkin.

"But now," he says, "their fear fills me with nothing but this, soon my form will look all too human; yesss, humans are what humans fear now more than anything; to prevent this I am forced to feed second-handedly from these…holiday born psionic dimensions to absorb the fear of children they feed on…resulting in this…"

"My child," comes a deep voice from all around him, "Lord of the Limbo between life and the Land of the Dead, I can grant you greater territory, greater power, access to their very dreams, you would be the one to mold the fears of an entire world and gain so much more power!"

The Lord of Limbo laughs, fire spewing from his mouth, "Power? Who said I was lacking power oh evil darkness? My form, a mere aesthetic, it is my nature to lament and be dramatic. My form is granted by the average, by the most common aspects of human fears on those worlds which know to celebrate this oh so grand time of the year."

"Then," says the darkness, "would not access to the dreams and molding the fear of an entire human world not work to your benefit? You could decide what they fear, what form you would take, be what ever you want to be."

"I can already do that," says the Lord of Limbo, "at least not as far as you are saying, which sound soooo boring, what fun is it to do that? My power remains the same regardless of what I look like, I may even take any form I've had before. Left alone they may grant me a new form. No, I spread from world to world, inciting Halloween to be born; it's just a shame it seldom stays such a dark and wonderful holiday. If only I could insist it stay dark, perhaps have a more direct physical influence like these Halloween towns do…but alas."

He falls back into his chair, his hand to head in such an overly dramatic pose, "tis not to be. Any world I can influence with its thin veils always has as well barriers designed by the local gods to prevent their own native spirits and demons from flooding the human world, at least in such as the more powerful ones…such as myself. So I bring about Halloween towns in that space to influence the human cultures to give rise to the holiday again and again."

The Lord of Limbo looks left and right into the darkness waiting for a reply.

After a moment of silence, "I see…" says the darkness, "that is your game, very well, I know of such a world, a world where you can enter, gods and demons go there all the time. It was my intention to bribe you with a different world in exchange for going here, however it seems that is not necessary. I will instead give you the coordinates of this dimension, this world where ghosts, demons, and monsters regularly walk the surface where you may become the lord of fear and incite a truly fantastic Halloween to be born, perhaps even with worshippers. Naturally as powerful as you are your power would be limited, but here you could speak directly to worshippers through mirrors and portals, here you may even walk the land every so often as the time is right like the gods there do instead of just creating proxies."

"Interesting," says the Lord of Limbo, "I take it of course in exchange for knowing where such a fantastic place is you would want something in return?"

"Indeed," says the darkness, "an enemy you may have to face regardless when you go there. I will give you her exact location. She is a self proclaimed goddess of chaos and cataclysms, a monster you would face as a rival. The locals tell stories of her, and have done so for many generations. She is awed and feared. Her name forever burned into the collective cultural memory of every culture upon their entire world."

"and," says the Lord of Limbo, "I would take her place in their collective memory, a greater evil…a greater darkness usurping the throne to mold their nightmares not simply from afar but there among them at that joyous time of year…"

His pumpkin mouth turns up in a smile, "yessss,"

The blue screen changes, morphing into a large window by the power of the darkness as black smoke swirls around the edge of the screen. The screen changes to show a forest with a dirt path, walking along it are two women."

"That is the world?" says the Lord of Limbo, "I see two women in costumes, does a Halloween in some form already exist? I have already altered similar celebrations a number of times. You make it too easy."

"Days to celebrate the dead do exist," says the darkness, "but these are no costumes, they are sorceresses, the one in black is the self proclaimed goddess."

"She does not look so terrifying," says the Lord of Limbo, "a bit cliché in fact with that evil Sorceress giddup, she could stand to show a bit more skin though, maybe a leather thong and some spike shoulder pads, a few skulls, a more rattied cape."

"She is no joke!" yells the darkness making everything shake, "are you not the king of horror? Have you not felt the deaths she has caused over the ages? This woman has made a mockery of your element."

"Do tell," says the Lord of Limbo

"She has traveled outside her world," says the darkness, "she has slain the living, real embodiments of horror icons, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Dracula, and many others. Are you not offended?"

The Lord of Limbo's fire eye holes narrow as he scratches what passes for a chin on his round head, "Ah, I see, this is a fantasy type world, swords and sorcery, and she is some master of magic. It is this old story again is it? Fantasy vs horror, both share many of the same monsters, but fantasy makes them more light hearted, none threatening, generic enemies, or sympathetic allies…"

The Lord of Limbo slams his hand on a wall that no one but him would have known was there, "The arrogance! For ages THAT has been what has diminished my Halloweens! That is what has forced me again and again to spread to new worlds just to get the same amount of fear energy I had before. They turn vampires into heroes, they turn werewolves into romantic love interests! They turn ghosts and goblins into jokes! Zombies become...nothing but low level enemies, ghouls, demons, living shadows, everything they should fear is turned into common faire and laughed at all thanks to the emergence of videogames, cartoons, and movies about impossible people with crazy powers vanquishing my horror delights with swords and spells! This blasphemy spills over and changes even the most hardcore horror monsters into action heroes!..."

"Wait," says the Lord of Limbo starting to pace, "This is her isn't it? Yes, my counterpart for fantasy…it must be! That is why you came to me. You are the source of evil, the first one, the embodiment of dark desires, you need my monsters as much as I do. But you have no physical presence anywhere beyond your voice and visual representations. So then I slay this one little magic woman and it's all over. No more enchantresses putting spells on demons, no more vampires that cast fireballs, no more werewolf paladins and shamans, no more lovely witches, no more armies of goblins fighting elves…its back to the thing in the darkness lurking outside the suburban home ready to come inside and eat the residents, its back to the lone human hunters trying desperately to survive the evil that lurks in the shadows. No more heroes who leap twenty feet in the air and slice the heads off of giants…all over, and all horror from then on."

He stops a moment and looks at the screen, "Yes! I will put an end to the queen of fantasy!" He steps through the portal.

In the dark zone the man known as Skeletor has watched the whole thing through the back of the skull of his goat skull headed staff.

"So," says Skeletor, "was that true? Would killing this woman you hate so much end all things your strange minion calls fantasy? I can't help but feel that ending magic and all those things he said would come out as anything I'd want."

"No," booms the darkness, "the Lord of Limbo is old and deranged, he thinks himself the source of these monsters; he is merely a parasite that uses them to feed on the fear of mortals. The sorceress Rhulan is not the source of the mystical archetype; she is merely another player in it; albeit one that has become too great a thorn in my side."

"Hmm," thinks Skeletor, "then you want this monster to finish her? If that is so then why have you summoned me here to this place?

Night begins to fall as Rhulan and Hollia stop dead in their tracks, a blue door of a portal has appeared before them on the path. The one stepping forth is a most unusual sight, a tall thin man in a suit that Hollia recognizes as the type of attire worn by some in the Croix Empire as an ancient formal attire. That alone would not be alarming if not for the fact his arms and hands appear to be made of thick bristly pumpkin vines that twist into claw like hands. His head is a large pumpkin with triangular eyes carved out and a mouth of triangular teeth, topped off with a flame inside making the eyes and mouth glow.

"What…is that?" asks Hollia.

"Well," says Rhulan, "it has a Jack-O-Lantern for a head so I am guessing a fear demon or yet another movie monster being sent by who ever or what ever keeps sending them; given it has that same stench of an aura about it I have no doubt on that one."

"Things of fantasy," says the man, "I am the King of Limbo, King of Halloween, King of Horror, and today I put an end to fantasy!"

With that it grows in size, forty feet tall at the least and sprouting a second pair of vine arms.

"Okay," says Hollia, "Lin Li…oh right Lin Lin is at home today."

Hollia summons her staff from the blue flames, "Then it's just you and me Miss Rhulan."

"Indeed," says Rhulan flying into the air, "let's be rid of this demon quickly."

"Goddess Wind!" shouts out Hollia summoning the spiral green horizontal cyclone from the end of her staff. Her massive version of the spells shreds apart the monster's left arms.

Rhulan holds her arms out summoning massive amounts of electricity to them. As she brings her arms together in a massive clap she shouts out, "Thunder Blast!" unleashing a massive lightning bolt that blasts apart the monster's pumpkin head.

As Rhulan floats down towards Hollia she stops, as the monster is not falling over. Its arms regenerate, and despite the lack of a head it laughs. A fire erupts from the spot where a neck should be and spins into a massive fireball tacking the shape of the head. The fire becomes vegetable flesh forming into a new pumpkin head.

"My turn," says the monster as it spews out fire.

"Saint's Fire!" shouts of Hollia summoning a wave of blue fire that collides with (despite how fire should act) with the flames from the pumpkin head holding each other at bay.

Rhulan flies towards the monster's right side, her body glowing blue.

"Crusher Force Fist!" yells out Rhulan ducking under the flames and smashing her fist into the monster's chest, the blue shockwave of the attack punching a massive hole in its body.

It stumbles backwards in shock, allowing Hollia's attack to wash over it. When the flames are over however the monster still stands, albeit a bit limply as smoke rises from its mouth. Its body has a hole in it, and the two lower arms fall off, vanishing in smoke when they hit the ground. The hole has no blood, no guts, only tattered cloth and leaves like a giant scarecrow. The weight of the pumpkin head forces the upper body backwards ripping the torso in half. The pumpkin head hits the ground smashing to pieces before it too, the upper arms, and what remained of the upper torso vanish in smoke.

Hollia is about to speak, however she notices Rhulan's deathly stare is fixed on the legs which are still standing. An explosion of dead leaves shoots up like a whirlwind from the waist of this thing and reforms into the previous upper body. This time however it has only two arms, which have wooden claws, and the head is a skull with flames in the eye sockets. It starts to form a rolling flame inside its mouth. Rhulan and Hollia nod to each other.

As it spews forth the flame Hollia shouts out, "Saint's Barrier!" and Rhulan shouts out, "Spirit Shield". The spells merge, overlapping and turning red with a hexagonal plated appearance. This new barrier is hit dead on by the flames. The flames are absorbed by the barrier which then shoots out a Freeze Blast in the same direction. The blast takes the monster by surprise encasing it in ice.

As they drop the barrier known as the Aegis Shield, Rhulan raises her arms above her head, Hollia knowingly backs up. Rhulan crosses her wrists, her hands gesturing the index and pinkie fingers up.

"Agni spirit of flame," chants Rhulan, "consume from with in, burn away the core to consume all around it! Agni's Curse!"

Inside the ice the body of the monster bursts into flames from with in.

Hollia shouts out, "Saint's Barrier!" forming a dome around her and Rhulan as the force of the flame burst explodes outwards shattering the ice faster than it can melt sending shards across the land like rockets into the air crashing down on the path and nearby by forest sending every bird and woodland creature, even a few Flame Raptors which had apparently been nearby racing away from the scene.

When the smoke clears there is no more a giant man, however there is still someone there, a normal sized man, albeit tall and thin, and wearing that suit. His head a pumpkin with a red glow, very different from a flame glow, coming from the unmoving eyes and mouth. This man holds out his hand and a scythe emerges up from the burning leaves around his feet.

"Very well," says the man, "I knew you would be tough, but this is ridiculous. So be it, I will use the forbidden power!"

He brings the scythe down in front of him stabbing the dirt, "Infinite Horrors!"

The ground cracks and a massive tsunami of strange lesser demons from across a thousand cultures comes spewing forth.

In a blink Rhulan summons the Seraphim Sword. She nods to Hollia who un-summons her staff and concentrates a ball of energy in her palms, a ball made of glittering blue, white, pink, and violet sparkling lights.

Hollia shouts out, "Goddess Blast!" shooting the beam out at the same time Rhulan swings the sword shouting out, "Seraphim Moon Cleaver!" sending out a wave of black, purple, blue, and green fire. The two attacks merge into a blinding light that takes the form of a massive dragon with violet eyes. It opens its maw and swallows the demons, destroying them upon impact. The attack spirals into the air as Rhulan and Hollia will it where it vanishes.

*boom*

The man with the pumpkin head explodes out of the ground below them, brandishing a knife. In a span of time too short to be seen by human eyes Rhulan *zips* over and grabs up Hollia, taking to the air before the man can stab Hollia with his knife from below. Rhulan floats in the air holding Hollia in her arms like a damsel in distress she just saved. Hollia blushes from the unexpected embrace. Rhulan lets her go as Hollia levitates on her own and summons her staff back.

"Nice…attack," spews out the monster, his words covered in venom.

"I…have…never seen…such magic…in movies…oh…right…video games…cartoons…that must be it."

"Creature!" shouts of Rhulan, "this is real life, I do not know what madness has possessed you or what lies you have been told or…what ever, but know this, I am Rhulan the Celestial Sorceress!"

"And I," shouts out Hollia following suit, "am Hollia the Divine Maiden! Demons that would disrupt the harmony of this land are not welcome, return to your own world now and we may spare your life!"

"Nice," says Rhulan smiling at her.

"Thanks," says Hollia blushing, "I've been practicing."

"Warn me now?" scoffs the monster, "I see…in my haste to dispose of you fantasy scum I didn't introduce myself….wait…yes I did! I am the king of all horror the king of Limbo! Like any good horror franchise I embody the first and best principle of every good horror monster!"

He leaps into the air some distance from them; unlike the sorceresses who are levitating he is somehow standing on the air.

"I can not stay dead!" he shouts out with a hideous laugh, "No matter how many times you kill me, no matter how you kill me, no matter how obvious and clear my death was…I was always come back again and again…and…"

*Smash!*

Rhulan has *zipped* over and punched his pumpkin head smashing it to pieces and sending the man tumbling on the air kicking up dust that shouldn't exist.

The red light vanishes and….Hollia puts her hand to her mouth, "By the goddess,"

The man has no face. There is skin covering where the eyes, nostrils, and mouth should be. Under the skin one can see a faint red glow in the eye sockets, a glow so deep that one can tell there are no eyeballs under that skin only eye sockets, the glow clearly coming from inside the skull, the only thing revealing a face being the presence of a nose and a lip shape to the peach colored skin.

The wood hands it had burst into flames revealing normal human hands, although with skin over where the fingernails should be.

"By the goddess," says Hollia putting her hand back down, "what…what kind of demon…"

"Nothing I'm familiar with," says Rhulan back at Hollia's side, not knowing what this thing is.

"I…" says the monster, "I can smell your fear…your uncertainty…how sweet."

His arms go limp to his sides as he just stands in the air facing them, still as a tree, "I am the who stares without eyes, I am the one who speaks without a mouth, I am the one who lurks in shadows, forever in the background, I am the true face of human fear, I am the stranger, I am the template of man, silent and alone and always there waiting and watching."

"Not very silent if you ask me," says Rhulan making Hollia laugh despite the situation.

"I was wrong," says the man, "you are not the embodiment of fantasy…you are humans…I can smell that now, now that the fear orb is off my head. No human can kill me, me who was born of human fears. How foolish I was to play it like that, although you have taught me not to face what ever would be the archetype of you…none the less I will kill you both and then I will be free to wander this world, create a new Halloween, create new fear, the fear from such powerful humans should make me like a god!"

"Air Slicer!"

"Golden Blast!"

A blue arc of energy comes at the monster from below slicing his body in half, and a golden beam of energy destroys his lower body. From above a massive Fire Salamander attack comes down engulfing his upper body and smashing down into the ground.

A woman, a humanoid black panther with long hair wearing pirate clothes and wielding twin scimitars flies over from the direction the Air Slicer came from, and a muscular male elf with short yellow spiky hair with red tips and wearing a martial arts outfit comes from the direction of the Golden Blast, from above Lin Lin flies down around Hollia.

"Too bad for him," says the panther woman known as Cata, "we aren't human."

"What was that thing?" asks the elven man known as Gold Wolf.

Lin Lin chirps while nuzzling Hollia's cheek.

"A demon born of human fears," says Rhulan narrowing her eyes, "and it has that same aura as too many demons which have come to this world. I fear something is sending them, spread out over time as they may be this has to stop, next time it might send a DaiKaiju or something here, no telling how much it might up its game now that this one failed."

"I said!" comes an un-natural scream from below, "No matter how you kill me I will not die!"

The head flies up, the inside of it bulging and moving in sickening ways, the lip skin rips open and several grey slimy tentacles come out squirming, same too for the neck, the nose, and even the eyes. With a few sickening pulses the back of the head rips open and demon wings shoot out. The head explodes revealing a red glowing orb with tentacles wrapped around it.

"By the goddess," says Gold Wolf, "please tell me that isn't what I think it is."

Rhulan crosses her arms, "Everyone…" she says in a very somber tone, "stand back…and stay back."

She creates a portal and summons forth a very strange sword, a blacker than black hilt and a red katana like blade with black bolts around it. Her shadow forms around her hands creating claw like structures, black stripes appear on her cheeks, and her eyes change from blue to red and glowing like mystical rubies.

"The Thousand Year Sword," whispers Hollia hugging onto Lin Lin.

Cata's hair bristles as she and Gold Wolf both back away; Gold Wolf VERY far away. The sky darkens, black and red waves over its surface, the wind blows hot. The sounds of every living thing below that isn't plant or person can be heard fleeing the area, and those who can sense it can feel the eyes of a million spirits, gods, and certain beings above the planet watching for unusual energy signatures, upon this scene.

Disregarding the laws of mass tentacles fly from the monster towards them. With a mighty, "haaaaaa!" Rhulan charges it, her sword out slicing the tentacles into black oblivion as she makes her way towards the orb. With a mighty thrust she stabs the sword into the orb. There is an un-natural silence, then the tentacles turn black and blow away as ash, and then nothing, dissolving towards the orb, the wings too. The orb stops glowing to reveal it was a gem, a mystical core. Rhulan pulls her sword free and recalls it back into its portal. The sky turns back to normal as does Rhulan.

"Thank you," comes a small voice from the orb as it cracks more and splits apart.

The orb falls away like glass, which turns to sparks, which vanish as they fall down towards the ground. A tiny thing remains, a blue squid of a thing. A soft voice, yet loud enough for all of them to hear comes from it, "Thank you. A million times I come and go in different forms, corrupted by the evil in the hearts of mortals. I know now I was not sent here to kill you, but to be killed by you. Yes, the evil one did not know this, he too is but a pawn of the greater force at work here. Thank you…for freeing me of this existence."

It floats up and starts to fade away, "Next time…I hope to come back as something good, something to make the holidays happy…"

Just before it vanishes completely, "next…time…I…want…..to….be….an…Easter Bunny."

and then it was gone.

"Wow," says Gold Wolf, "when you said that sword was pure chaos….seriously…damn woman, did you just…I mean did you just make an Eldrich Horror say it wants to reincarnate as a bunny?"

Rhulan shrugs her shoulders, "It was going on about Halloween and horror versus fantasy earlier. Who knows what that thing's motivations were for coming here."

As they all float back to the ground Rhulan continues, "but clearly, that portal had the same aura as a number of other monsters,"

She looks to Hollia, "including those assassins the other night, what ever this is, it clearly wants us dead, even if that means using diminutive demon assassins or best I can tell tricking some alien holiday themed abomination from between time and space into attacking us."

As they start to head down the road Hollia asks Gold Wolf, "So uncle, how did you know to come help us?"

"Well," says Gold Wolf, "you two were supposed to meet us at Stratalia for that mission Queen Thistle wants and you were late…"

Cata chimes in, "actually Lin Lin started to go stir crazy, trashed the diner we were at and made us follow her out here."

Lin Lin licks Hollia's cheek as Hollia nuzzles her.

Rhulan's mind however is elsewhere, "What ever this is, it has hidden its location very well, can barely follow a trail through my scrying pool, but each time….more comes together, before long…evil one, I will take this fight to you."


	38. Chapter 38: Villains Gather

It is a scene that would be comical if not for the sheer amount of dark power in the room. Gathered from across time and space in this place are five of the most powerful and evil spell casters in the multi-verse. Although the most famous of them would be those that lost their battles, the darkness makes no mistakes of those it chooses; as before it has chosen those who survived, those that won, albeit the monsters despite their victories in their own worlds lost to the might of magic present in Aesperia and from its champions. Regardless of what world they found themselves on and the native laws governing magic therein the Aesperians won. It is for this reason that the darkness has gathered in its cold dark space these five masters of the dark arts, the fives bastions of evil and among the parallel worlds of their own realities those with the greatest of power who defeated the good that challenged or at least survive them.

Jafar, the Sultan Sorcerer. This despicable man tricked a youth into delving into an enchanted cave for a magic lamp containing a nearly omnipotent genie. Although the youth escaped his attempt at murdering him for the lamp, with the lamp; a second chance emerged. The youth posed as a prince to gain the favor of the beautiful princess. He nearly succeeded at it; had not Jafar had the boy assassinated, where as a more foolish man would have bribed the guards to knock him out and toss him off a cliff believing the disguised lad to be a real prince and not the one he taken into the desert. No this Jafar recognized him right away and had him stabbed in the back, claiming the lamp for himself. Despite his wish to be sultan the princess and then Sultan refused to bow to him; thus he wished to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world; and no choice was given the Sultan was executed, the princess…her fate better left unwritten, even the parrot was executed as power drove the mad sorcerer beyond even his limits and he tried to oppose Jafar; but with no one of any power to aid him he was killed.

The Genie was removed from the equation, the third wish used to banish it and its lamp on the furthest world from life in the universe to remain there. The kingdom of Jafar's spread through out the world and is held back only by his own mad tendencies and the kingdoms of power and magic banding together around Agraba, most powerful sorcerer, not more powerful than multiple one's combined; if only politics were so simple as these others also vie for power only holding back Jafar not defeating him.

Maleficent, the mistress of evil. It was a joyous occasion, the christening of the newly born princess, the queen was in good health, the king as well, all the kingdom and surrounding rulers had even come; save for one who was uninvited. The neighboring king even brought his eight year old son, as this young boy was to be betrothed to the newly born princess and marry when she was sixteen and he twenty four, uniting the two kingdoms. As the princess lied there the three good faeries descended, a comical trio, yet with amazing powers and unlike most fae no qualms about meddling in mortal affairs. Under the pretence of bestowing gifts they molded the princess as they liked. The first made it so she would grow to be a thing of un-natural beauty, despite the clear fact by looking at her mother she would grow up to be beautiful, granted a gift such as lips red as the rose is something no woman could truly have with out makeup naturally; as the faerie bestowed. The second manipulated her voice, thus the princess would gain a singing voice so melodious the faerie and their kin could enjoy it and not just mortals, a voice to rivals musical instruments and even be in harmony with its self. The third had a gift in mind, a gift of faerie intellect, something they could convince easily to their own ways.

Before the third faerie could grant her "gift" Maleficent appeared, insulted at not being invited, even more so by the words of the good faerie who told her "you weren't wanted". In this moment Maleficent thought to invoke a death curse upon the princess; yet a moment passed and she saw the neighboring king and his son and knew the intention of the faeries.

In this moment a far grander plan emerged, and as she twisted her claw like hand over the orb of her staff, as green swirls filled the room filling all with dread even the three faeries she said, "From this day forth the queen shall be barren, the king unable to sire any children. The princess shall indeed grow to be beautiful, with a voice sweeter than the finest treats, however regardless of how she is raised upon the eve of her sixteenth birthday she shall fall into a sleep that will last till dawn; upon awakening she will fall madly in love with the first woman she sees or hears even if she be her own mother or worst enemy. Matters not how much time passes between then or when the meeting takes place, one woman meets her eye and she will never love any prince!"

With a haughty laugh she vanished in green flames. The third faerie tried to rectify the spell, her magic too weak to remove the curse, striking her blind would not work given the specifics of the curse. Her only resolution was to amend the curse so that the princess could fall in love with the prince if he were dressed like a woman and he was the first she saw on that dawn. Allowing also him to not need to dress as such ever before or again, only needed that one time. The spell did not take, the curse was too strong. With the neighboring king's approval she had no choice, if the prince were to be raised as a princess taught all the manners and dignities of a lady and it was him she first saw upon awakening that dawn then it is he she would fall in love with. This time the spell worked.

To insure it worked the faeries took the princess to an enchanted grove where they would raise her, as beings of magic they insured, the spell would not work with them; however they would bring her back to the castle the eve of her sixteenth birthday, hiding her away till then from Maleficent. The prince despite his protests was henceforth raised as a princess; eventually he came to accept it, and even liked it as he grew older. His features and body became more feminine in form thanks to magic potions provided by their resident enchantress to insure that the princess would fall in love.

It came to pass on the eve of the sixteenth birthday that the princess was snuck into the castle under cover of dark. It all went off with out a hitch, in fact as it turned out the princess had already met the prince on one of his secret outings into the woods, the princess taken by the tomboy she met although confused by her emotions; now not so much so the spell only enforcing her inner feelings for who she met. That dawn however brought a surprise. Maleficent is no fool, not able to find the princess she had targeted the prince, disguised as an enchantress she supplied the potions that would grant feminine beauty and charm; revealing only now that the prince would have to had stopped taking the potions for a period of three days before this dawn or else the final stage would take effect. Indeed this dawn the prince truly had become a princess, which spell influenced her love now fully up to debate.

So the family line of the kingdom was truly ended, although the kingdoms were united, the people in their religious society would not accept the union however. The people of the kingdoms revolted, under fear of having their heads cut off the princess lovers were forced to flee to the one that brought them together, Queen Maleficent, their kingdoms were ruined. The princesses became the apprentices to Maleficent, even giving up their humanity to become like her to avenge their fallen families and courts. The two princesses of darkness would enslave their old kingdoms bringing with them a court of demons and terror. Maleficent had now become an Empress, a ruler of her own, and master of the queens of another kingdom, their powers united they could spread through out the continent creating an empire of darkness.

It is this rare long term planning and cunning for a Maleficent in the multi-verse that attracted the evil being to bring her along, given its experiences with another mistress of magic.

Hordak, the cybernetic wizard, ruler of Ephemera. His army, the Horde conquered this world many decades ago, their peaceful world was easily run underfoot. Along with his general Skeletor, they attempted to conquer another world, Eternia. They were fought back through the dimensional gate, except for Skeletor who remained behind. Hordak did not leave empty handed for he had kidnapped the infant princess. Having learned however that the royal family of Eternia is genetically set too benevolence he had his greatest geneticists and wizards work together to turn her evil; a deed far more easily done, in fact done a little too well. She grew to become the cruelest and most evil of his generals, a beauty with a black heart. His methods of raising her however included psychological conditioning…and magic, to insure she obeys his direct orders.

A man came to his world seeking her, this He-man was captured, fooled by her as she pretended to be good. He-man's life force was drained away to power a powerful weapon that ended the rebellion against the Horde. This woman however, this dark princess has fooled Hordak as she has kept He-man alive, although constantly drained of his power, his energy powering her own secret weapons. The man himself is kept as her own personal sex toy; his cries of being her brother only fueling her evil hearted lust. She would claim the swords he brought with them if only she could undo the spells protecting them from evil. For now and the foreseeable future however Hordak is the ruler of Ephemera and it is him, his army, and his magic that interests the darkness.

Skeletor, the dark wizard warrior of Eternia. There was once a dark elf of blue skin who desired to rule all of Eternia, a world of wanders, magic, and advanced science. This world however long ago suffered from a cataclysmic spell that caused half the world to be good and half the world to be evil, this dark general united all the tribes of the dark half and lead an assault against the light half. The Elders with the Sorceress (a goddess like woman with a bird motif) used all their power to repel the army, scarring the man in the process. His injury, reducing his head to a skull would have been fatal to anyone else save for this master of Necromancy. His army was fought back and the Elders and Sorceress used their power to erect a great wall separating the two sides of the planet.

Many decades later the wall has come down, the man now known as Skeletor leads a smaller army than before, but his ambitions remain the same. With the Elders gone and the Sorceress confined to her castle as her expenditure of magic before has drained her to the point of having to stay near her crystals to slowly recharge, Skeletor would seem unopposed in his war. The Sorceress had one last card to play as she awarded Prince Adam with a magic sword that turns him into the hulking superman He-man. Off and on the battles went back and forth until this Skeletor sought out a sorceress of his own. Hidden in the depths of the desert was a sorceress known as Evil-Lyn who stayed by herself perfecting her magical powers. Skeletor was able to enlist her aid, with the promise of the power of the Elders which Skeletor had suspected and spies confirmed was the source of He-man's powers.

Now the good Sorceress is trapped in one of her own crystals while Evil-Lyn controls Castle Grey Skull, He-man's powers stripped away and his identity revealed. The royal family of Eternia and the so called Masters of the Universe have fled to parts unknown to try and raise their own rebellion as Skeletor now sits on the throne.

Tireek, the King of the Nightmare Land. This demonic giant centaur conquered a land of beauty, a land over the rainbow from a mundane human world. His first act was to destroy the rainbow gateway, beyond that the denizens of the Dream Land were helpless against him. The strongest adversaries of this land but witches that pledged allegiance to him, talking bees that fell before him, various talking helpless creatures, and multicolored talking ponies which he turned into dragons, some as slaves, some as mystical beasts to aid his further conquests. He is notable to the evil one simply because despite the colorfulness and seeming helplessness of this land of all across the multiverse that the evil one has seen somehow this Tireek was the only one to conquer the Dream Land.


	39. Chapter 39: Dead Man vs Jafar

"Well isn't this a familiar sight," says Jafar appearing from a black portal and standing on a sand dune overlooking a nearby kingdom.

"So," he continues, "I am expected to conquer this place as I did back home? Hmm, no problem."

With a wave of his staff and a red electric glow of mist like energy the sands around him come to life forming into an army of skeletons.

"Now!" orders Jafar, "make an example of this kingdom, kill all who do not flee the main street to the palace and topple the palace walls!"

The skeletons take two steps before stopping and crumbling to dust.

"What?" yells out Jafar.

"So where did you come from?" asks a man Jafar had not sensed. A man in thick black robes, and an oversized hood adorned with the Eye of Horus symbol.

"Who are you to address me?" says Jafar.

"Oh?" says the man, "I am Aziz, they call me the Wizard of the Waste."

He paces a little, "I saw you…I saw you arrive through that portal sorcerer. Oh yes, a very interesting transporter spell my friend. However you look like you want to start a fight with this here kingdom, but I think you messed up your transporter spell my friend, for you must think this is a different city than it is, for you to use skeletons here."

Jafar rubs his cobra staff the eyes swirling, "tell me what you mean."

"You don't need to try and hypnotize me," says Aziz, "won't work anyhow, I am a Necromancer, also same reason your skeletons failed is the same reason you should also know you can't hypnotize anyone down in that city."

"My aren't you forthcoming," says Jafar.

"I am an enemy of this kingdom," says Aziz, "but you should know this is the capital city of the Dead Man…calls himself that, so you can guess he is also a powerful Necromancer…the people here, by virtue of being born here, are destined to become part of his army upon death, therefore their minds are already stained black with his magic, no psychomantic spells can get through."

Their talk is interrupted by the sand exploding around them, an army of mummified animate corpses rises.

"I may be their enemy," says Aziz, "but I am no fool"

His smile glows in the darkness of his hood as he fades away like a ghost upon the encroachment of the surrounding zombie horde.

"Fools!" yells out Jafar, "I am the world's most powerful sorcerer!"

Spinning red electric mist destroys the desert zombies as the flames also come over Jafar. The flames rise higher and higher, emerging like a beast of hell Jafar appears in the form of a giant red cobra.

"Now then," says Jafar in his snake voice, "for…"

*Fwooosh!*

A massive green beam comes from the direction of the city and blasts over Jafar's head. When the blast clears all that remains is the skull of the cobra, which falls down dead. Quickly the flesh rots away leaving only bone. From a distance one may think the bones are also rotting away; however upon closer inspection one would see the hands of desert zombies dragging the skeletal remains into the dunes. Miles away, across the streets of the city, up the palace walls, sticking out of a lone window in a lone tower is a hand of rotted green flesh and bones sticking out on some fingers, others with long nasty fingernails rotted yellow and cracked. Green sparks dance between the fingers, destroying flesh, which grows back, yet still looks rotted. Inside in the impossibly darkened room for the sunlight outside a pair of yellow eyes flash, looking in the direction Jafar had been moments before.


	40. Chapter 40 Ryo-Yoshino vs Maleficent (SB

A swirling portal of darkness appears high above the forested mountains of Northern Ravashira. Below at the foot of the mountain a small kingdom, its people look overhead as a green fireball descents from the sky and lands somewhere atop the mountains. Emerging like some dark phoenix is the sorceress known as Maleficent. Staff in hand, her dress draping across the ground like a shadow she steps from the burnt smoldering spot of her arrival and steps to the cliff side looking down upon the kingdom below.

"So," says Maleficent, "such a quaint little kingdom is to herald my arrival? How delightful."

Her attention is drawn skyward however as a blue sphere descent and explodes into the mountain by her side sending half the cliff face tumbling down.

"What?" exclaims Maleficent.

"So," comes a woman's voice from above, "that evil bastard is dipping into the Disney vault now? What he run out of slasher flick rejects to send?"

Above Maleficent sees a woman, unlike any woman she has seen before. Her body is gorgeous yet built for fighting, her hair is un-naturally high, long, and looks to almost be made of black quills, ear long black fur covered ears nearly lost as part of this mane, all this making her pale pointy chinned face and striking blue eyes stand out even more. If only to top off the weirdness this woman is dressed in an odd fitting battle costume, slit on the sides of the dress revealing tight shorts underneath, and a weirdly vest like top barely holding in her ample breasts. Also she has a black cat's tail.

"I do not know what sort of creature you are," says Maleficent, "but I am Queen Maleficent, mistress of all that is evil."

Maleficent fires green bolts from her staff at the floating woman, who simply vanishes out of the way and appears a short distance away.

The woman laughs, "What not going to wait for me to introduce myself? What kind of low class villain are you? *Ahem*, I am Ryo-Yoshino, and I'm the mistress of ass-kicking."

Ryo-Yoshino summons a blue sphere in her hand and throws it.

Maleficent summons up all her strength to summon forth a massive green flame to engulf the sphere; however it barely slows it down enough for the sorceress of evil to vanish from the path of the sphere before hitting the spot where she stood and destroying the cliff face.

"Enough!" shouts Maleficent as she reappears, "I will show you all the powers of Hell!"

A massive green flame engulfs her, rising like a tower. From the flames steps forth a black dragon.

"OH Jeeze, what ever shall I do," says Ryo-Yoshino sarcastically.

As Maleficent bellows forth a blast of green dragon's fire Ryo-Yoshino *zips* out of the way and appears behind Maleficent. Here she grabs the dragon by the tail and takes off into the air dragging the beast that was a woman with her. Maleficent's claws and teeth slash and bite respectively, as well as bellowing forth fire as she struggles in the grip of the now smaller opponent.

"Alley oop," says Ryo-Yoshino as she spins around holding Maleficent by the tail, and upon reaching a crazy speed releases the dragon into the air.

"Plasma Beam!" shouts out Ryo-Yoshino firing a blue beam of energy from her hand upwards.

The beam consumes Maleficent, vaporizing her within its azure light. The weird light show would be talked about for years to come in the kingdom below, the evidence of the landside and burnt areas making its people conclude that some spell casters must have had a battle that day. Life would go on as it always had, after all, this is a land of magic and warriors.


	41. Chapter 41: Vampyre vs Hordak

The village is burning, the helpless little town somewhere in Eastern Croix has been invaded by weird tanks with red bat symbols on them and robot guards. The towns people have all been rounded up.

*Snort*

"Is that all the resistance these people can muster?"

Laughs the infamous Hordak leader of the Horde.

"What…what are you going to do with us?" asks the town leader being brought before Hordak.

"Ha, ha, ha, *snort*, this town will be an example for anyone who opposes the Horde. Soon we will conquer your entire world! *Snort* ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,."

"The world?" says a man standing on a nearby roof, "you fools would do well to leave this place before the master comes."

"Shoot that man!" yells out Hordak, "We can't allow the local kings to know we are here till more of my troops have come through the portal!"

*Zap!*

*Zap!*

(and many more zaps but the stranger has disappeared into the night)

A lone woman among the hostages rubs a red medallion around her neck, "The master already knows. He is coming."

Hordak turns, "Bring that woman here *snort*"

"Stand," says the robot guard in its mechanical voice.

"What did you mean by that *snort*" says Hordak.

"What she means," comes a voice out of the darkening sky, "Is that I have arrived!"

An ominous wind blows through the tiny village, most the villagers scattering in fear despite the guards.

"Stop!, Stop!" yells out Hordak, "What…"

He looks up at the circling clouds, "What is going on here? *Snort*"

A swarm of bats descend from the cloud and cluster in one spot like a cone, a red light flashes inside and they vanish in a puff of black smoke leaving behind a tall man with shoulder length black hair, pale skin, red eyes, and wearing a white tunic, black pants, and a black cape. In other words, typical old school vampire attire.

"I am Count Vampyre," says the man.

He turns to the remaining villagers, all wearing the red medallions, "go my children of the night, return to your homes, I will deal with this sorcerer and his metal golems!"

These remaining villagers all leap back into the forest and vanish like ghosts.

"So," says Hordak, "you are some would be hero *snort*"

"Hero?" says Count Vampyre in his sophisticated tone, "Did you not here the name? Did you not see the villagers run away, more afraid of me than you? I am Count Vampyre, the sire of darkness, the king of the night, the master of all nightmares that dwell in the forests. No…I am not a hero…more…say a villain really."

"Oh," says Hordak, "*Snort*, then you should join the Horde. Imagine it, world domination."

"World domination," says Count Vampyre, "the ambition of fools."

"Why you!" yells Hordak.

"Your ragtag army," says Count Vampyre, "would be crushed by the Croix Empire long before you even managed to fully take over one kingdom. Don't mistake a tiny village's defenses for an entire planet's capabilities."

"*snort*, you have no idea the power I possess. The power of my master!"

"You speak of power then," says Count Vampyre, "yet knew not of myself where you appeared on this world. You have no idea the powers that rest on Aesperia, heh, I can think off hand of at least a half dozen individuals that could lay waste your army…not including myself."

"What?" says Hordak

With out a second to waste Count Vampyre does a dramatic gesture with his cape and yells out, "Blood Swarm Vampire Bats Millennium Devastation!"

A massive swarm of blood red energy bats fly out from his cape, cutting down the Horde robots and tanks as though they were passing right through paper. Hordak falls to the ground.

"Wha…what?" stammers Hordak.

Count Vampyre flies into the air, "Oh, right I know you…you're that cartoon villain from the world where trees are shaped like hearts and are defeated by love power or something right? A girl's toy bad guy."

"What are you talking about? *snort*" yells up Hordak.

"I would collect you," says Hordak, "but I already have the embodiment of slasher films in my pool. I don't need some sissy bad guy…"

*Boom!*

Hordak transformed his arm into a cannon and took a shot at Count Vampyre, missing him by easily seven feet.

"Yeah," says Count Vampyre dropping the noble tone, "1980's villain alright, can't hit your enemy worth a single damn."

*Zip*

Count Vampyre *crushes* Hordak's gun arm in one red glowing hand, and holds him by the throat with the other, also glowing red.

Count Vampyre lifts him into the air and says, "Vampire's Blood Super Delux Demonic Flare!"

A red blast of demonic energy shoots off of Count Vampyre's palm like a fireball, taking out Hordak's head completely in the process. He drops Hordak's body to the ground and proceeds with out need for the long drawn out title to blast several more such Demonic Flares completely vaporizing Hordak's body, leaving behind a vaguely human shaped hole.

"Haaa, haaaa, haaaa, haaa, haaa," laughs Count Vampyre in an impossibly deep voice as he floats into the air, arms crossed, and vanishes like a ghost.


	42. Chapter 42: Lana vs Tireek

A dark cloud appears over the town, the people scramble to escape save for one priestess of the Church of the White Cross, who stands just outside the door of the temple watching as the nightmarish horned centaur giant flies from the darkness on a chariot pulled by dragons.

As the chariot lands the monster steps forth, "I am Tireek, ruler of the nightmare world, you too will become part of the kingdom of darkness!"

He strokes a pulsating bag around his neck.

Lana steps forward brandishing a pure white sword.

"A priestess?" asks Tireek, "so this world is no better than the last I conquered?"

"Holy light," says Lana, "Banish the darkness!"

She swings her blade and a spiral blade of light flies into the air and coils around the dragons.

"Ha!" says Tireek as he pulls forth his bag, "Behold the power of the Rainbow of Darkness!"

The dark energy fights with and swallows the light.

"So much for your ultimate weapon." says Tireek, "now succumb to darkness."

Lana glares at the monster and the sword in her hand vanishes into a red sigil in her palm.

"So be it," whispers Lana, "The Cure Sword can wait."

"Monster!" shouts out Lana, "I am Lana Outfarce, Priestess of the Winged Goddess of Healing. I beseech thee in the name of peace to leave our land…or…else I will be forced to fall back on my old ways."

"Priestess," whispers her attendant from the doorway before shouting out, "don't warn him! Just kick his ass!"

Lana shoots back a surprised look.

"Sorry," whispers the attendant.

"Go ahead," says Tireek, "there is no power equal to the Rainbow of Darkness!"

"Levitation," says Lana taking flight, "meet me outside of town and we will see which is stronger your Rainbow of Darkness, or my ultimate spell."

"Very well," says Tireek, "a show down, would not be the first witch to over-estimate her skills against me."

The two meet in a clearing outside of the quant little town.

Lana stands, a red sigil with black bolts appears around her as she chants.

"Darkness Beyond the Deepest Night

Beyond the Strength of Heaven's Light

Beyond the hate of demons

Beyond the love of angels

Beyond the power of the gods

I call upon thee, swear my soul to thee

Bring your mighty strength to bare

Against the ones who stand against me

Rewrite the threads of reality

Undo the word of creation

Bring forth the chaos and destroy my enemies!"

There is a pause from Tireek as dark bolts shoot up from the sigil and create a hole of darkness that moves with waves of red, green, and purple inside it like some power inside the hole being held back by shadows. The red sigil appears in the air around the hole. The hole morphs, forming a bubble, a sphere of this dark chaotic energy comes down as though being pulled from some infinite space beyond the sigil by the dark electric bolts.

The sphere floats about Lana's outstretched arms as she finishes the chant with.

"Chaos Destroyer!"

She motions as though throwing the sphere.

As it flies towards Tireek he pulls out his bag and yells out, "Rainbow of Darkness!"

The dark rainbow is sucked into the approaching sphere which does not even hesitate in its approach. As it hits Tireek it pops, the dark energy with its dark colors beneath the shadows slithers over Tireek's body encasing it in the chaotic energy.

Tireek struggles briefly, but in short he stops moving and the shape of Tireek floats in the air.

Lana falls to her knees exhausted, the two sigils vanish and the dark energy around Tireek vanishes, as though being pulled from him into the very air. A block of ice, the shape and size of Tireek. He is not frozen, no, this is just ice in his shape where he was. It falls to the ground and shatters. In the warm summer air it slowly melts into nothing more than water. What was Tireek would now only be a muddy puddle feeding the grass and shrubs.

"Its…" huffs Lana, "not complete…the words…the power…."

She forces herself to stand, "I never perfected it, my master barely had any pages of the Rhulan manuscript that told how to do it…but it's enough to take down an oversized stationary idiot demon."

The chariot and the dragons remain.

Lana sighs as she summons the Cure Sword.

With a swing of it she yells out, "Holy Light Banish the Darkness!"

The same blade like white energy appears and entwines the dragons. It shrinks around them into a sphere, when it vanishes what remains surprises Lana.

"Am I hallucinating?" wanders Lana as she looks at four small multi-colored pony pegasi with tattoos on their flanks.

"Thank you," says one of them in a high pitched voice, "now we can revive Dream Land."

They fly into the air and vanish into a magic rainbow that seems to appear just for them.

"Priestess!" yells the attendant as she rushes over, having followed Lana out here but kept her distance, catching Lana just in time before she passes out from her effort.

As they re-enter the town a man, wearing armor he clearly put on quickly rushes over, "Is the priestess alright?"

"She is only exhausted," says the attendant, "she used up too much of her mana in defeating that demon."

He gives the attendant a hand in carrying Lana back to the temple.

"We are so lucky," says a shop keeper, "to have such a talented priestess in town. Even

with out adventurers or soldiers we are still safe from monsters."

A man in blue armor and grey robes hiding his face sitting at an outdoor bar says, "This town is lucky Lana Outfarce the once famous sorceress adventurer retired here…although it looks like she didn't fully retire."

"Sir," says the bartender too late to stop the man from pouring his tea on the face covering scarf he is wearing.

"Uh," says the man, "I'll just take this and go."


	43. Chapter 43: Rhulan vs Skeletor

The wind blows across the desert as the lone figure of Rhulan sits upon the ledge. Her thoughts wander as she leans on her palm looking down into the valley. Thoughts of her adventures, wandering what Hollia is doing right now back in Stratalia, and thoughts about all those weird visions she has been getting about the evil force poised against them sending sorcerers across the world only to be dispatched by others. As though in response to her thoughts a dark portal appears on the ground below, two figures emerging from it.

One of the two is clearly a sorceress, the other a strange blue skinned creature with a skull for a head. If not for the ram skull staff and the fact he is emitting mystical energy she would have though him a monstrous henchman to the sorceress. Rhulan stands and says, "Teleport."

She appears before them, arms cross beneath her ample breasts. She knows why they are here, she can sense the same dark energy as the others.

"You are Rhulan," says the man in his odd high pitched voice, "I am Skeletor, master of evil, ruler of Eternia, haaa haaa haaa haaa. I give you one chance to swear allegence to me."

Rhulan does not speak, she only starts to walk towards them, her face seemingly expressionless save for a mean look in her otherwise beautiful blue eyes.

"Stay back!" orders Skeletor, as he *blasts* a spot in front of Rhulan with his staff.

Her movements are unimpeded.

"You asked for it!" yells out the woman as she stands before Skeletor, "I am Evil-Lyn, the most powerful dark sorcer…ess…"

Rhulan flips her cape open, the inner lining turning from red too black and metal tentacles shooting out in lightning speed. One wraps around Evil-Lyn's waist, two around her inner thigh, two around her ankles, two around her wrists, and two smaller ones criss-crossing between her breasts to steady chest. These lift her into the air and towards Rhulan. In a swift motion Rhulan takes off her cape flings it into the air, it expanding in size, as though catching a butterfly with a net and like some magic act Evil-Lyn vanishes inside the cape.

"Wha…" says Skeletor, "not as chatty as we've seen…very well, I'll just destroy you!"

He *blasts* Rhulan with a direct hit from his staff. He does nothing to her other than make a little light show around her abdomen. He sends out another and another, some she absorbs, some she deflects blasting rocks around her, one last one she grabs with her hand, refocusing the energy and sending it back at Skeletor's staff knocking it free from his hands.

"Magic isn't my only trick." says Skeletor as he grabs twin swords, oddly colorful for someone claiming to be evil, as if they were designed for a toy villain.

He jumps into the air and does a barrel roll, swinging his swords. In a moment that could only be seenby the human eye if time slowed down Rhulan slides over the air, a move known as an Air Skimmer, moving quickly beneath Skeletor doding the fan blade like movements of his swords and does her own twist. Her cape swings out, its edge coming for Skeletor's mid-section, something that should be harmless, if one did not notice the cape has changed, no longer cloth but a thin blackness, invisible from the side if not for the edge emitting a blue glow as it distorts space. This edge, the very edge of a wormhole slices, as that is the only word that would not be a long quantum physics lecture to describe what happens as Skeletor's lower half is seperated from his upper half. All this done so fast none of Skeletor save for a few tiny drops of blood get into the portal that is the cape.

Rhulan turns around to see Skeletor on the ground, his lower half twitching, while his upper half tries to drag its self towards his staff. Rhulan walks over, and stomps the staff, cracking it in two, and with the first word's she's said this whole battle, "Plasma Beam" she destroys the staff in a blue light. She walks over seemingly ingnoring Skeletor and does the same to the swords.

"Do not ignore me," says Skeletor, "I am not defeated to easily, I….get your foot off my he…$%&"

Skeletor's skull is crushed beneath Rhulan's boot, surprisingly, at least surprising her there were brains inside that skull. With a simple moting of her left hand a green energy ring with sigils inside it appears around the top of her boot and moves down, wiping all foreign material, dirt, dust, and brain bits, from her boot and onto the ground.

She takes a step back aims her hand at the severed body parts, "Inferno Blast!" the intense white hot flame destroys the body, and makes a small glassy crater in the desert landscape.

Rhulan turns to the sky, looking directly at an unseen viewer in another dimension, "I tire of this plague of flies. I give you one final warning to leave my world in peace demon."

She turns and begins walking towards the nearest town. Not even bothering to look back, as though this were just another minor monster for her to deal with.

Meanwhile in another place, another space, another world, reality, existence, Evil-Lyn finds herself in a place in constrast to her attire. A room, a simple old world looking room with wooden walls, a simple yet large bed, a desk, and even a book shelf. Yet something is wrong, the walls are too smooth, the floor is too warm. There doesn't seem to be a source of light, the window would be a good guess except it too is smooth, Evil-Lyn assumes it a screen. The door may look simple, but it is like a wall and will not even budge,

Just as she is about to attempt a spell a ring of violet sigils appear in the air. She steps towards it, and recieves a splash of blood on her face. It is nothing but a few drops, and if not for seeing some on the desk and wiping it off her face she may have missed it and though the sigil something else before it vanishes. She holds out her hand, a yellow circular star sigil appears and she closes her eyes.

A smile forms on her face, "Skeletor is dead. Now I will be the Empress of Eternia!"

"Be not so proud," comes the voice of Rhulan behind her only moments later.

Evil-Lyn turns and falls to one knee, "Goddess of Dark Magic…master, excuse my impudence."

"I thought to felt like the same Evil-Lyn, what a coincidence. Let me guess Skeletor was your student?"

Evil-Lyn nods, staring at the floor terrified at this line of questioning.

"and yet," says Rhulan, "he was your…master?"

"I…" starts Evil-Lyn.

"Silence!" yells Rhulan making the whole room shake.

"Centuries have passed since I appeared before you in the dark mirror of the Black Skull Temple. Centuries since you pledged yourself to learn the mystic arts by…how did your spell go, calling upon the greatest spirit, master of dark magic in the plane between planes. Who was it that answered you…oh right, me. I taught you, I instructed you, could have sworn I mixed in some political and otherwise common sense tactics in all that."

"My…apologies," says Evil-Lyn.

"It is no matter," says Rhulan, "After centuries of silence, I can guess you turned to…other means to learn more magic and all that. Yet…what happened a few weeks ago? You came back to me, luckily for you I kept an Avi-wraith watching that mirror to alert me if anyone used it, and that I was kind enough to answer."

"But…I warned you…" starts Evil-Lyn.

"I already knew," says Rhulan shooting her a glance that makes her drop her head again.

"However a deal is a deal. You did assist, us, in pinpointing the exact location of your so called evil master. As your reward I will teach you the spell that calls upon my power, the Mystic Destoyer…however."

Rhulan walks over, leans down, grabs Evil-Lyn by the shoulders and raises her too her feet. She pinches her chin between her index finger and thumb, tilting her head slightly up to the just slightly taller Rhulan.

"It has been ages since I tasted the lips of evil…heh."

Evil-Lyn blushes remembering the words spoken to her through the mirror so long ago as part of the deal of learning magic, and of once being possessed by Rhulan's astral body, an event that allowed her to convert the daughter of Eternia's master of arms to her side during the war with the power of passion.

Rhulan wraps her arm around Evil-Lyn bringing her in closer, squishing their breasts together. Just as Rhulan's lips begin their caress the door opens.

"Ooops," says the small woman with long green hair, "my bads."

Evil-Lyn tries to back up in surprise but can't escape Rhulan's arms which hold her in place.

"Misaline," says Rhulan, "either join in or leave me. We can contact the others later."

Misaline shuts the door, her inside the room. Her body morphs, she turns as tall as Rhulan, her breasts about twice the size though with impossible hips and waist. Her clothing shifted to tight white robes with green leaf trims. She struts over a broad smile on her face.

She rubs Evil-Lyn's ass with one stroke before looking her up and down and tapping the crown making it vanish into thin air. Misaline leans in to Evil-Lyn's ear and whispers, "you're lucky, you're about to get your world rocked by half of the most powerful sorceresses in the multi-verse." and gives her earlobe a quick lick and smiles at Rhulan and nods towards the bed which doubles in size.

*cough*

Anywho, as one may imagine that was one hell of a threesome. Afterwords Evil-Lyn was returned to her own world, but given a key by Misaline to return through any door at anytime, if she wants to learn either magical or carnal arts or some mixture of the two. However more serious matters are at stake, as during this whole love making session, with a healthy dose of making the karma sutra look like a beginners edition (magic has many uses, like telling gravity to screw off and making use of the wall and ceiling and other tools normal humans can't begin to trully grasp).

*cough*

Yeah, Anywho, back to more serious matters are at stake, during this whole…threesome…two guests have been waiting in Misaline's round table room. Rhulan didn't know they had already shown up. The Egyptian sorceress Isis, and the mother of modern Alchemy Claire. Together with Rhulan and Misaline these four women are regarded by several cosmic authorities as the four greatest sorceresses in the multi-verse. And this day they are meeting, all four together in the same place at the same time,for the first time in millenia.


	44. Chapter 44: Rhulan vs Krampus

A long time ago, so long ago it has faded from her memory, but not from the legend of one little town, on a cold winters night the fate of the valley nestled in the mountains was changed forever. In this most jolly of holidays admist the coldest of seasons many a gay little scene could be seen with parties and cookies and decorations galore, except for one dark secret covered in gore.

In this place in the dark forests of night lived a creature born of hellish fright.

*stop rythming right now*

*cough* Anywho, yes in this place in dark forests admist the ice and snow covered mountains children were worned of a horrible thing even while being told to be ready for a saint to bring them gifts. For if you were bad, very naughty indeed, a horrible monster would visit your home and make off with the children.

On this cold winter's night a stranger happened into the valley nestled among the ice covered mountains, a woman not dressed for the cold, dressed all in black. Black boots, black tight pants, black corest top, black cape with red inner lining, and blood red hair. The woman is known in her land as Rhulan the sorceress, here however the stories simply call her the Sorceress that came from the Faerie lights. Which really is less simple a title than just her name. Her reason for coming here is not really known, perhaps on a quest, perhaps bored, unfortunately she doesn't remember when this happened only that it did.

As she walked through the snow, or rather floated invisible as a ghost above it, she could feel a demonic aura on the wind, which carried also the screams of children. She followed both, as they both lead to the same place. What she saw was horrible sight, a man with goat legs, red skin, black beard, and the horns of an antelope, his long tongue swirling outside his jaw which jutted out beneath his long pointed nose. What was said between the two is not fully known only that she demanded it release the children. It can be guessed by the legends that the monster said no, and informed her of his mission to round up the naughty children, whip them, steal them, scare them, or even kill them depending on how bad they had been. The sorceress remembers as she relates this winter tale that she chastised the demon for taking children at all and passing judgement on those so young who had barely begun to live, not long enough to have garnered any major sins. The children had screamed, pleaing to be saved. Something in her heart gave. In a fury and flash she ripped off the basket the poor kids, no older than three were being held in.

The demon resisted, she nearly broke his arm and stretched back his head by the hold of his horn. The demon was surprised that this woman was so strong and had no choice but to give in to her demands to return those kids to their rightful homes, not only that she made it show it where it was hiding others from its night time raid of the neighboring towns. She stole them away, gave them a warm place to stay in the nearby village till would come the bright sun of day and they could be on their way.

The demon however, this thing called the Krampus, for it she showed no mercy as she stabbed it through with an iron stake from a yard and pinned the demon to a pole in the center of a town. That would be a frightful sight, and a warning to others of its kind. Not only that as the town has an ancient legend that it gave the men the courage to protect their kids from then on from these monsters, they were not immortal, not invincible spirits, but things of flesh and blood that used the holiday for their own dark purposes.

So it was written from two points of view, confussed, I am, good night.


	45. Chapter 45: Rhulan vs The Fourth Wall

In the dark field on a cold autumn's night far away from the sounds of man and beast a stillness robs the air of sound. Rhulan the sorceress stands in a dead farmer's field standing before a shambling scarecrow, a vicious monster…of…, a vicious…Rhulan…Rhulan? Hey! Get back here!

"Fuck this!" "fuck you!" "and fuck all of you who want to see me fight these weak pathedic low class no level horror pansy monsters!"

"Seriously, what am I? A mary sue? Making me fight these pathedic freaks, dream demons, masked psychos…like what three or four? I hardly get to fight anything worth my time in these triple gods damned stories. So you know what…fuck you I'm leaving."

Uh…okay, Rhulan seeing that the monster isn't doing any harm in this empty pocket di…

"Demiurge of Ra!"

Oh sweet mother of the gods! Why! The horror…the horror…right, you can't see this. She…the Demiurge of Ra…I mean, right. The Demiurge of Ra is a spell that basically creates a hurricane of fire…literally a full sized hurricane…made of fire. Its an Omega Level spell she rarely uses, because…well.. lets just say there used to be a farm house in this scene, a field, some dark trees, now…just wow…never got to see this spell used anywhere but in a cosmic battle zone before and once on a cyber world. This is just…

"No more Scarecrow, you happy, now don't bother me again unless you plan to actually finish the story with that evil darkness thing, remember the meeting with us four powerful sorceresses? Remember? Or pit me up against some superheroes or supervillains, next time I am just going to kick superman in the nuts with kryptonite laced boots…oh don't think I don't know you brought him back to life…oh sorry I mean he was only in a coma, Deus Ex Machina mother fucker. Not even a real story and you fucking make excuses like you work for DC. Its fanficiton for crying out loud, you could have me fight five supermans, an army of them, slice them up with my dimension cape, rip their heads off with the Cataclysm of the Demon lord move and juggle them, its not like those battles are canon to their universe or mine anyway. Or are you afraid I'll be labled your Mary Sue? Not like pitting me against B-movie…."

Not all B-movies, Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th…

"B-movie making BIG BUCKS is still a B-movie in my books kiddo, or do I have to point out the shit in your theaters, oh look explosions, oh look the ghost jumped out…oooh I'm so fucking scared right now, hold me tommy, because I am a bitch."

Oookay, no more low level monsters.

"and where is that sex scene with Wonder Woman and Supergirl? Wasn't that the whole point of me going into DC comics stuff in the first place? Also I know you have it on a list for me to fight the Ninja Turtles, or at least meet them. Also Thor, really where are the Marvel comics cross-overs? You don't even read DC comics! You've bought what? One Supergirl comic in the last decade just to see what DC looks like right now and you thought it was stupid."

I watch the cartoons.

"Hence fighting a superman that doesn't compare to what you saw on , what was that you said, I wouldn't have stood a chance? I still know that Kryptonite crystal barrage…not that it matters. You actually READ Marvel comics, and Witchblade…now there are some nice tits and a nice ass, send me there, that should be a nice lesbo scene. Maybe a threeway with that Angelus…oooh, fourway with her girlfriend in there too. Hell throw me into My Little Ponies, just anythings better than more DC comics…(unless I get to fuck Wonderwoman and Supergirl), or these pansy ass horror monsters.

Right, I think we should end this story now. Till next time folks, maybe Rhulan will do something a bit more incredible.

"Like get a tongue bath from Wonder Woman."

*facepalm*


	46. Chapter 46: Grandpa's Tale

A cold winter's night, the eve of Christmas the children are gathered around grandpa as he pulls out a book.

"Let me tell you a tale," he says, "of a sorceress who traveled around the multiverse slaying evil. She was given this job by the goddess…"

"Boring," says one little boy, "I bet she was like this goody good magic girl working for some dumb blond goddess of goodyness saving everyone for goodyness sake."

"Nope," says grandpa, "says here she was an often vain and egotistical dark sorceress who was tasked by the goddess of chaos to go around killing badguys as recompence for trying to kill superman."

"superman?" asks the boy.

"Yeah, now shut up you little shit," says the grandpa, "I want to tell you about the time she killed the Joker by beating him to death with a dildo."

"Mooooom!"


	47. Chapter 47: Rhulan plays Santa Clause

Across the infinite expanse of dimensions and realities she has traveled, discovering many wonders; many amusements, and many tall tales. One such occasion a tall tale of one of many Earths drew her in; a story told to children about a man who once a year would bring gifts for those who were good, and punish those who were bad on the eve before their highest of holy days.

Sitting upon a ledge of stone in a place beyond the edges of civilization on some world or another overlooking a prestine forest is Rhulan. She is looking at a tablet examining the mechanics of this (Santa Clause), museing over the very concept of, "what if it was real?".

What would a world be like if it KNEW, absolutely knew that at the end of each year an unstobbale entity would criss-cross their world and award the good and punish the bad? Not just a story for children, not some ideological tale where this reward or punishment comes after death; something that the living can not confirm, can deny outright in fact and ignore. This would be different, the living would know, know of karma's embrace.

"Hmmm," thinks Rhulan sitting upon the ledge looking at her tablet, "the concept is sound, the mechanics however are another factor but not impossible."

She stands and walks back and forth near the sharp cliff edge with no concern for the hundred foot or higher sheer drop. Upon her tablet is the image of the globe, and how night moves across the world.

"A single night," says Rhulan tapping her boot heel, "its really like two days if one starts out here in the Pacific Ocean. Hmm, well getting to every person is tricky but not impossible. Speed isn't really the key, hmm, well if when each time zone hits midnight I use the Crucible of Lucetaria to enhance my Between the Seconds spell I will have all the time I need to get to each person in that time zone."

She paces some more, "However…locating…oh…right…"

She summons a silver sphere and with a wave of her hand enchants it with an image of the planet Earth, "with the princible of synchonocity with this planet the life finder will locate each and every human in the targeted zone while I am outside of time."

She sits on a rock, "well that takes care of the one night and locating the people, heh, use an index key and I can even turn the locator into a checklist for every person. Naturally travel for me is no problem, just teleport to near each life sign. Of course the good and bad thing…hmmm."

She floats down the side of the mountain to a stream, as she sits upon a log watching the water go by it dawns on her, "the scales of Justice such as those in the Netherworld use to judge souls…" she smiles at the irony of using such things on the living, "well so far so good."

She holds a rock and flicks it into the stream, "Okay, well that just leaves the gifts, if I had an army of drones I could just build everything and use an Omega Class Bag of Holding to deliver them…or use a Creation Tablet to build them…or a summoning bag…so its really either violate all the copyright and patent laws on the planet…or effectively steal them…meh...either or. Not that, that answers the question of how I'd know what to give them; not to mention that creation tablets would only be able to create things that have their blue prints imprinted on them…unless I just steal them…hmmmm….hhmmmmmm…ah…I have just the thing."

She smiles, "The Acoshic Crystal, heh…two birds with one stone, I will know what they want and how its made to put on the Creation Tablet…linked to a summoning bag."

She smiles, her method set on how to pull off Christmas; getting into homes and such easy, punishing the bad a distant thought as her mind focuses on becoming a real Santa for one lucky planet.

Rhulan's excitement in her workshop is electrifying, eventhough no one will see her unless she wants them to, she has gone all out. Her black Shadow Cloth converted to a dark red color with a leather texture, a white fur like trim. Her cape has become thicker, and all red with a white fur like trum. She even has on a santa hat and a candy cane in her mouth while holding the not really filled but looks like it santa bag (Bag of Summoning).

Oh sweet merciful heavens….this did not end well. All of mortal sins exposed, the good were indeed given gifts…the bad punished…the really bad very punished….the truly horrible…defenseless, exposed, it was a massacre. As each time zone hit midnight she moved, gifts to houses, odd tricks to many a slightly bad person, and a trail of corpses for the wicked for whose truths were revealed by her magic. As she started in the pacific, the west got wind of what was happening. All anyone knew was a blue light when each time zone hit midnight, and then sudden magic gifts, and punishments for the wicked. It was as though a benevolent and wrathful God had chosen Christmas to bring about a prelude to the rapture. Oh so many theories were made. But some saw her, those she chose to see her. A new Christmas character, the sorceress dressed up like Santa Clause…or a very hot Mrs. Clause as some spun it.

It was the first and only time she did this herself. She created an organization to do it for the next year. It became less a treat for her own karma and more an experiment in short order to see how a world would behave with a once a year judging force breathing down their necks.


	48. Chapter 48: Godzilla vs Chucky

*Do you wish to live?*

The ethereal woman's voice rings into the soul body ears of Charles Lee Ray as he wanders the Desert Hell. A scorching heat of a never setting sun whose position in the sky never changes, and endless sand and rocks of this arid wasteland.

"Who the fuck?" says Charles looking around, seeing nothing by the blinding landscape.

*Do you wish to live?*

Charles turns quickly, standing, or rather being present over the sand, is a woman whose pale complextion and black Victorian dress seems bathed in shadow despite the world around them. She does sink in the sand, it does not move as she moves, the world moves as a fluid lie around her.

*Do you wish to live?* says the figure once more, her mouth not moving. Her hair moving as though in the liquid waves into her garments.

"What…the fuck are you?" asks Charles.

*If you wish to live* says the figure, *I can restore you, you need only do a job for me*

"Fuck no," says Charles, "this happened before, when that magic bitch killed me. That time I ended up in…a…fire hell…I guess…that dark shadowy cloud guy came and gave me the same deal, told me to assassinate those bitches in their sleep…what happens, fucking girl sends me straight to this fucking Hell, so screw you bitch…"

He shields his eyes trying to make out her shadowy face, "you know you kind of…"

*Here's the deal asshole,* says the figure dropping the ambience in her voice, *I return you to life, you fight and kill one guy, not the sorceress Rhulan, or Hollia, or anyone like that who'd use magic against you.*

"Fine," says Charles, "just…"

Before he can finish his sentence everything changes, the sand replaced by the roof of a building…but…something isn't right, the ledge is too high and…he looks down at his own body…

"Son of a bitch!" he exclaims realizing he is once again in the form of the Chucky Doll.

The ground shakes.

"and an earthquake on top of eve." (Skreeoonk!) "..vr…thi…ng…what the fuck was that?"

He climbs the ledge and looks off the building to the site of a three hundred foot tall dark grey/black kind of green looking for some reason monster.

"Oh what the fuck is that?" exclaims Chucky.

*Godzilla* comes the voice of the woman, yet not appearing, *that is who I brought you here to fight*

"and how the fuck am I supposed to kill something like that? You going to turn me giant or something? You already turned me back into this fucking toy bitch!"

*You don't.*

"Then…" starts Chucky

*I brought you here because I was bored, and this amused me. Lets see how long you manage not to die, oh lets get his attention shall we*

The possessed doll known as Chucky is making a break for the stairwell trying to get the door open when a massive shriek knocks him off his tiny plastic feet. Turning around he only sees a massive sea of dark blue quils scrapping the side of the building and the rumbling as the street below gives way to this new Kaiju's weight. He doesn't wait a moment longer, realizing this is what the entity meant by getting Godzilla's attention (summoning a second Kaiju right in front of where he is), and gets into the building.

Inside the building the rather pointless being here at this point living doll, whose presence was pointless from the start as he damn well knows and questions as he runs down the stairs as fast as his tiny legs can carry him, tumbles down the stairs as a few floors above…are removed from existence by a hellfire storm of nuclear fury in a concentrated form as the Kaiju Godzilla blasts a hole through the building trying to hit whatever it is he is fighting outside. The building shakes a moment later as a massive tail, a blue scaled thing with spikes along its edges and a webbing like some weird cross between a fin and a lizard's tail slices through the building. The top floors crash into this below, the building crumbles all around Chucky.

Inside the rubble that was once a building behind the great blue kaiju the possessed doll known as Chucky is somehow still alive, although trapped in rubble and half smashed. The female entity that had brought him, and the second Kaiju here phases like a ghost through the rubble until standing over the psychotic doll.

"Why…" chokes out Chucky, "why'd you…even bring me here?"

*Boredom* says the entity without moving her mouth, *or to teach a lesson in humility beyond what you had already learned…no…it was boredom. Midway into my little…fun…here I had a better idea. I once sent a Godzilla against a killer named Jason, I was going to pit more of you slasher types against these Kaiju…however I realized with you here and looking at it, it really is a pretty stupid idea, a little too one sided honestly…so back to hell for you.*

With a dismissive wave Chucky vanishes. Not back into the Fire Hell or the Desert Hell. No this time he finds himself in a land of darkness and odd blue orbs floating high in the sky providing what little light there is, a land filled with giant toy blocks, floating train sets, and a million strange toys.

"Welcome," says a woman in a two pointed hat purple jester's costume, "to Mistress Misaline's toy chest, the Hell for all naughty little toys."


	49. Chapter 49: Godzilla vs Azuara

Can such a being be rightfully regarded as a Kaiju? Her frame is like that of an attractive human woman, even if most of her body is covered in blue dragon scales with a snake's belly like abdomen, inner thighs, and beneath her arms. This massive she-beast has claws for hands, three long spikes on each forearm, and a long thin tail with spikes along its side with webbing between them like some strange cross between a fin and a lizard's tail. She has short dark blue almost purple quills where hair would be, spikes on her jaw, and while not unattractively so her jaw is extended beyond that of a normal human and sports a mouth full of sharp teeth and a long prehensile yet forked tongue. On her native world this Kaiju is called Azuara and is regarded as a sister to although only due to some similarities the Kaiju, Nox-era, Nuwa-gara, Shogonna, Pele, and Oro, possibly also the male draconian Kaiju Destructice and his ilk, all conjecture however and irrelevant to the matter at hand. As Azuara makes land fall she crawls onto the shore on all fours before righting her self to a full standing height and roaring, more of a melodeious shriek. To the frightened populace and the approaching military something unprecedented for this Kaiju is about to happen, it vanishes, just vanishes.

The city was almost completely evacuated as the G-watch team predicted Godzilla's landfall days in advance. While unstoppable the king of the monsters is predictable, following set paths much the way other forces of nature do such as hurricanes.

Godzilla turns as the strange new Kaiju appears, its shriek drawing his attention. He roars in its direction getting its attention. The Kaiju known as Azuara looks around confused as a moment before she had been making landfall on the California coast and now is standing at the outskirts of a completely different city. Godzilla roars again and blasts the street with his atomic breath. Azuara bends over, her back nearly horizontal and her tail sweeping through the air kicking up a wind that blasts cars and debri about the street. She is bent of knee, her arms bent slightly at the elbow her hands held palms facing each other and claws bent inwards as if holding something. She lets out an aggressive sound reminiscent of bird mixed with something akin to a stringed instrument being plucked violently. Godzilla lets out another atomic blast, she ducks down, the blast going through the building.

Azuara bends her back up, although still in a stooped position as she turns; her tail slicing through the building behind her sending it into a collapse. As the building collapses her hair like quils glow with a blue flame as blue dots of energy focus in front of her open mouth. The dots collect into a single sphere which then blasts forth like a blue laser surrounded by a clear shockwave; this attack known back on her world as the Devistation Beam, hits Godzilla directly in the chest, the beam sparking somehow on his hide and the sonic shockwave sending it stepping back a few roars and with great destruction to streets, powerlines, and automobiles walks towards Azuara.

As Godzilla approaches Azuara rushes at him, keeping her low posture and parallel stance, her right side to the king of the monsters she attempts to kick him with her four toed talon like foot. A move that utterly surprises the local humans watching the fight via a drone flying overhead. Godzilla grabs her leg, in an even more surprising move she flips up into the air kicking him in the head with her other foot, following through with a smack from her tail, thus freeing herself from his grasp. She leaps back as Godzilla shakes his head, barely fazed, surprised, but not really harmed by the sudden use of martial arts.

"Impossible," says a small woman watching the monitor from the drone as military personel stand around.

"It did just appear from thin air," offers a man.

Godzilla lets out another atomic blast, Azuara blocks with her tail while concentrating electric bolts between her palms. When Godzilla lets up she throws back her tail with a mighty thrust and lets loose a plasma beam from her palms. Godzilla roars as the beam hits yet seems to have been barely harmed.

"Azu…ara…" says the small woman feeling faint as the creature on screen appears to smile with her semi-reptillian face.

"Miki?" asks another woman standing nearby.

Azuara stands fully erect,

"Azu…ara…" starts to chant Miki, "Azu..ara…Azu..ara…Azu…ara…"

"Miki…snap out of it Miki!"

Azuara's eyes glow as she sings. A melodeius tune with a euphoric effect on those hearing it. The nearby ESP studies room is filled with lulling heads and the chanting of "Azu..ara…Azu…ara…Azu..ara.."

Godzilla himself seems to become tired as he staggers, his eyelids drooping and his roar rolling. While singing Azuara leaps onto Godzilla hiting him with both knees and her full weight knocking him onto his back, his scutes crushing into the local subway and sewer systems and the streets cavein around the two goliath semi-humanoid dragon beasts.

Back in the military control center Miki falls to her knees as though in prayer still chanting the name of the new Kaiju.

"Azu..ara.." says the other woman, "that…that must be the new Kaiju's name. It must be..it must be psychic..just like Mothra."

"Whatever it is," says the head military man in the control room, "it looks to have the upper hand for now. It may just finish off Godzilla."

"I…I wouldn't be so sure…" says the woman pointing at the screen.

"What…what is it…doing?" asks the man watching as while Azuara sings from deep in her body she sits ontop of Godzilla, her left hand rubbing the king's massive chest. She leans down, her long prehensile and forked tongue licking along the king's mouth.

Godzilla lets out a purr like sound, unlike anything the almost always angry god of destruction has ever uttered before.

"Aren't you a man?" jokes the woman to the officer.

"I…what?" says the officer looking at the scene being sent back by the drone.

Azuara's tail wraps onto Godzilla's like some giant centipede, the spines showing a great flexibility as she rolls back on the king. She sings as she moves her rear back on Godzilla's pear like frame, her long legs allowing her to hook around the base of Godzilla's legs and move back in a rather awkard yet familiar to those who have seen the kama sutra position. Godzilla's head rolls around as his lower abdominal scales move in a way no one had ever seen before, parting.

"Turn it off!" demands the officer.

"Sir," objects one scientist, "this is unprecedented footage.."

"I don't care," says the officer angrily, "We are here to destroy or control Godzilla, not get it laid! Turn this off at once, and keep a lid on it, we don't need this leaking to the public any sooner than it will. Besides…"

He points at Miki who is still chanting on the floor, her face flush.

The screen is turned off, at the moment Azuara is making a rolling chirping sound. As soon as the screen is off the ESP students and Miki snap out of the chant.

"Are you okay Miki?" asks the other woman.

"Yes, thankyou," says Miki as she stands, "the Kaiju…her name is Azuara…and…she's hungry…and…"

Miki flushes, "and in heat…"

"We gathered that," says the officer, "God help us if these two can reproduce together."

He eyes the scientist who had objected to turning the footage off.

"What happened Miki?" asks the woman.

"She…she is worshipped," says Miki her mind a bit fuzzy, "like a goddess…oh no…"

"What is it Miki?"

"I saw…" Miki looks into the distance, a strange gesture she does from time to time as if looking into a camera no one can see for dramatic effect, "others…sisters…black, red, silver, green, and gold, I saw more too…she…she's not from our dimension…something..something sent her here."

"To fight Godzilla?" offers the woman.

"I…I don't know," says Miki, "I…no it…she…touched my mind…she sensed me…"

Miki flushes, "she was making me feel what she feels…I can…still…kind of…"

Miki covers her face in embarrassment and runs off.

"Miki," yells back the woman knowing its to no avail.

Elsewhere it is all over, Godzilla is lying on his back, purring as it goes to sleep right on the street, which is more a crater now from the amount of force the two giants exerted upon it. Azuara in her bent posture is leaning over the sleeping titan. She looks around as though to check for any threats and the lies down next to her lover wrapping herself as best she can against his oddly shaped side. In his sleep Godzilla wraps an arm around her. Her spell stopped when she stopped singing, by then the king of the monsters no longer cared about fighting as the king had found a happiness he never knew before.

It is truly a shame however as while the two sleep the entity that had orchestrated this encounter floats invisible above them. She feels a moment of sadness in separating the lovers, in taking Azuara back to her own world, and at the rage and loss Godzilla will feel as he wanders the Earth searching for his mate.

*Azuara* projects the entity, Miki and Mothra (who is approaching Earth having destroyed the meteor threatening it) hearing the psychic projection, *is a dragon queen, a Kaiju that would only mate with something strong enough to fend them off. To them the battle was a mating dance. On her world no Kaiju male strong enough remains, and while interesting to see, the dragon queens can not impregnate each other. To create the next generation of Super Kaiju, I brought Azuara here as her Siren Song would do the job of calming the king of the Kaiju of your world, her sisters might have been a bit…more violent about it or are not in heat right now. Do not worry, I take Azuara back now to her own world, her and Godzilla's offspring will be born there. Oh how interesting this will be.*

The strange expositional projection is gone, and so to does Azuara vanish like a ghost.


	50. Chapter 50: Rhulan vs Megatron

The giant robot with a cannon on his arm aims it down at the sorceress Rhulan, she would be but a doll compared to the mechanical giant's size; yet she does not falter in her courage. Her black and red cape blows in the wind, her dark corest top, pants, and boots, not to mention her blood red hair stiking contrast to the desert floor in mid-day where she now stands. She knows her entrance had gained this things attention, an electric sphere and portal out of no where, no doubt causing this robot to go on the defensive.

"Be gone, machine," says Rhulan, "if you be intellegent know this, I have no quarrel with you; I am but a traveler seeking paths which have become intangled by the wills of others, leading me to this world while I seek another."

"Move and I will eliminate you," says the metal giant in its less than threatening voice, "Hmm," for some reason despite a lack of skin or hair the giant rubs his chin, "If what you say is true human, I Megatron leader of the Decepticons can make good use of your technology. You will hand it over to me or perish."

"Uh….huh…." says Rhulan, "I am going to assume you are a low class villain…what with how you talk and given you lead a group with a not so subtle name like…Decept…uh…cons…,yyyy…yeah."

"Would you rather perish then?" asks Megatron.

Rhulan *sighs* and raises her hand.

"What…" says Megatron raising an…elastic bit of metal skin above one eye as if it were an eyebrow, "are you…holding something in your tiny hand? A microchip, a floppy disc?"

"Magnetic Vortex." says Rhulan.

Megatron backs up clinching his chest, screaming to the sky as his body is ripped apart, pieces flying in a massive circle in the air before crashing down to Earth.

Rhulan raises her hand, creating a "Spirit Shield" to block the debris from falling on her head; not that the parts could harm her, its still annoying and uncomfortable. She flies into the air, looking over the area. Nearby are several other, colorful robots.

One of them starts to shout in a high pitched hissy voice, "With Megatron offline, I…Commander StarScream am now Leader of the Decepticons! All bow to Lord StarScream!"

"Oh fuck this," says Rhulan aiming her hand and saying, "Inferno Blast!"

A white hot beam igniting the air around it effortlessly blasts through StarScream's head and upper torso leaving a metled half circle and no signs of the clearly vaporized parts.

"Well my good for the day done," says Rhulan with little concern for whatever good she may have actually done, "I'll be on my way."

With that the sorceress opens a portal leaving this world she visited by accident behind, leaving the bad guys down two leaders, and one Autobot scout to report the weirdest, out of now where, no one could have seen coming, deus ex machine ending to their struggle ending un-imaginable given their normal run of circumstances. Although Optimus Prime is oddly saddened, he had hoped to change Megatron's mind from evil to good…despite a supposedly stupid amount of time having passed with them on opposite sides saying otherwise.

Good Wins, Evil loses, all because a neutral third party turned *^%& instead of *^&%(in) a wormhole.


	51. Chapter 51: Predator vs Chucky

The Multi-verse can be a funny thing sometimes, for its infinite array of alternate realities, differing physics, and less extreme parallel timelines; sometimes odd connections can be made. In one reality the infamous creature Jason Voorhees was inconveniently…or conveniently depending on one's perspective stepped on by a Godzilla that happened to appear at Crystal Lake via a Dimension Tide portal that had been used in its native reality to remove it from that Earth; while in another universe a different Jason was hunted down and dispatched by a female Yautja of the Shadow Born clan. A third Jason however bears an unlikely connection to a particular version of the killer doll Chucky. This Jason ran afoul the sorceress Rhulan during one of her bouts about the multi-verse; a sorceress who has gone one on one against ancient dragons, devils, gods, and Eldritch Abominations; holding her own even if nearly killed by some of these powerful foes…naturally an undead serial killer wielding gardening implements and pipes was reduced to ash. Ash that reformed into Jason after sinking into the mud of Camp Crystal Lake.

One particular Chucky also had a run in with this exact same sorceress after she was tasked to hunt down and exterminate a hand full of movie monsters by the goddess of chaos as part of some BS karmic redemption bit after she tried to murder Superman. The soul of this particular Chucky was grabbed from the limbo of chaos (as he had been utterly destroyed by chaos energy) by an inter-dimensional force of evil known as the Darkness (or father by the red Devil guy from the movie Legend); which restored Chucky and several others killed by the sorceress Rhulan. Chucky met the same Jason that had shared a similar yet not as bad fate at this time, treated like a toy by the child like minded psycho that is Jason. This Chucky however was tasked along with his Bride, The Leprechaun, and the Ginger Dead Man (yes the undead cookie with a revolver) to murder the sorceress and her white mage apprentice while they slept. Chucky and his Bride went after the white mage while the Leprechaun was dispatched by a super-powered maid android, the ginger dead man had the misfortune of facing Rhulan (which a fight between a foot tall cookie with a gun and a high class immortal sorceress went about as predictably as one would imagine). The Bride of Chucky was disintegrated by Hollia the white mage's dragon familiar while Chucky was exorcised by Hollia and his soul sent to Hell.

-that Jason Chucky met by the way was sent to the mystical world of Aesperia where a mystic archer was able to incapacitate him; after which Jason was given to an ancient immortal who was also a movie buff from another reality by the name of Count Vampyre who is now keeping that Jason as one of the many monsters wandering his property, namely a large lake by his castle-

For an unknown length of time this Chucky's soul, taking the form of his true body Charles Lee Ray, was trapped in the vast maddening wilderness of one Hell or another. His soul was raised from Hell by the goddess of Chaos and told that if he could defeat a single opponent he would be granted his life back…turned out this opponent was Godzilla who was pre-occupied with the siren like female dragoness Azuara; despite the fact neither Kaiju was aware Chucky was on a nearby building still managed to kill the murderous doll; the Goddess of Chaos confessed she did this just for "shits and giggles". Chucky however ended up not back in the Hell he knew, but during the transfer his soul was trapped back in the doll and wound up in a strange distorted toy box like realm that he was informed by a jester marionette was the toy box for evil toys belonging to the reality distorting sorceress known as Misaline.

So how exactly does all this equate to Chucky fighting a Predator? Well, Chucky with a handful of evil puppets, namely the toys from "Demonic Toys", a few video game villains, and an evil Pinocchio have teamed up together to find a way out of the toy box…successfully entering Misaline's mansion. A mansion that is a bridge dimension all to its self, with a shifting structure and doors that lead into various dimensions and millions of gardens that can be seen from various windows or parts of windows. The guards of Misaline's mansion round up most of the toys, Chucky however manages to escape through a door however before the human sized maid doll can grab him.

Chucky escapes out the door from a well lit magical world into a dark city street. Looking behind him he sees the door to a two story house with darkened windows save for one with the curtains drawn, the silhouette unmistakably that of Misaline reading a book.

Chucky flips off the silhouette while saying, "Fuck you bitch," before jumping down the steps and rushing off into the dark down the asphalt street of the unknown city.

In the bushes lurks the small figure of Chucky the possessed doll, not far away a man fumbles for the keys to his car. This is a rather plain looking man; one would never think that he was anything special. Chucky secured a knife and some piano wire from a closed down and oddly abandoned with everything lying around diner (that had a piano to entertain guests). Chucky stops as the man turns and hisses, his face distorting into a lumpy hideous form with thick ridges above his eyes and long protruding fangs. Over Chucky's head the black armored female predator known as Sti'Laka leaps, her gauntlet claws stabbing into the vampire and rising it off the ground. The vampire hisses and growl at her while unsuccessfully trying to claw at her arm, her skin like all of the Shadow Born clan aside from being grey and striped having a quality making them very hard to cut. A blade extends out the side of her left gauntlet like a short sword as she slices the vampire's head off. She barely has time to drop it before it turns to dust.

Sti'laka hunkers down to scoop the ash into a vial, the letters and numbers WVBA12 appearing below fang like pictographs. She senses movement leaping at her and by reflex twists and smashes her fist into Chucky sending him flying into the sidewalk. He has in his hands the knife. Sti'laka's infrared vision barely registers this opponent as having much of an internal temperature, she looks at the bush and back at Chucky, this was the thing she had dismissed as a rodent or small cat, however her scanners alert her that the body is also made of a polymer and not flesh as well as a metaphysical energy being present.

"Okay," says Chucky standing up his face twisting hideously, "I don't know how you did that you sci-fi convention reject bitch, but that asshole was going to be my ride out of this shithole town."

He points his knife at her, "So how about you take the Halloween mask off and give me a ride, because…babe a I owe you one for hitting me, so either you give me a ride…seeing as you can see I can't reach the gas pedal, or I cut you up."

She just looks in his direction.

"Yeah I know," says Chucky, "talking doll…lot to take…so get the fuck over it and…"

"Take the Halloween mask off," repeats back Sti'laka in his voice.

She stands up and disconnects her mask's breathing tubes and connection cables, her face is oddly slender for her kind, the tusk spikes on her lower mandibles giving a pointed chin illusion to her facial structure. A scanner like blue light beams from her gauntlet and her hunting mask vanishes, apparently pulled into her gauntlet by some alien technology. She growls at Chucky before extending her mandibles and roaring while extending her gauntlet blades.

"and it's not a mask….shit…" says Chucky, "okay bitch…let's dance."

He runs at her with the knife, and she punts him through the air. He lands about fifty feet away in the street.

"Shit," groans Chucky his plastic face contorting.

He runs off into the nearby park looking for some cover. Sti'laka however runs after him. She leans down as she runs trying to slice the tiny plastic opponent, however he manages to dodge and makes a U-turn back towards the street. The house he had come out of isn't too far away, like maybe a block or two.

"Got to get a different door," he says to himself, "crazy green haired bitch…figures it would take me to some post apocalyptic shit hole like…shit!"

He rolls out of the way just in time not to be stepped on, Sti'laka's foot embedded in the sidewalk. Chucky grabs the piano wire and wraps it around her foot as quickly as he can.

"This is what you get for fucking with…oof!*

The piano wire doesn't cut her skin, and she pulls her foot free with chucky still holding on, the wire however does cut up his plastic finger, making him bleed profusely.

Sti'laka throws aside the piano wire off her ankle and nearly does a double take at the sight of this plastic thing she figured was some weird scout drone she had to take out before it could alert someone; although it did challenge her to combat….at least she thought it did before it ran off.

Chucky gets up holding the knife, "okay bitch…you're strong…I get it…but I can make anyone bleed and …later!"

He spots the house in line of sight and makes a bee line for it.

Sti'laka fires several small dart pellets from her wrist gauntlet slicing through Chucky's body, despite bleeding through several holes he still runs. However a combi stick being impaled through his body and into the road holds him tight.

"Oh fuck this," says Chucky looking back at the surprised Predator, "and fuck you!"

She lifts the spear like weapon up, Chucky still impaled on it and slams it tip down into the road slamming Chucky face down into the asphalt. She reaches down wrapping her hand around Chucky's tiny neck and just by squeezing crushing his neck into bloody pulp making his head fall off and roll a short distance.

She examines her hand covered in the odd lukewarm blood that quickly cools in the night air. She produces her mask from the storage device and reattaches it before grabbing the living plastic flesh head by the hair.

"fucking bitch!" screams Chucky.

Sti'laka turns he head around holding it oddly close to her mask as if posing for a cross-over poster before she says in a slightly feminine yet growling voice, "another one" .

While walking towards the park by the car where she dusted a vampire she pauses and sets

Chucky's head on the roof of the car.

Chucky says, "what the matter bitch? Want to take a fucking picture?"

In a flash of a moment she leaps and turns, her combi stick extending further than before, the end extending into a scythe like blade as she swings it through the air, it slices off the head of a vampire that was only a blur in Chucky's eyes. A few more swishes and three other charging vampires are decapitated. Not far off a fifth vampire says, "fuck this," and makes a break for it. Sti'laka's shoulder cannon aimed for his head makes short work of him (blasting the head apart being pretty much the same as decapitation , only minus having the head left), he turns to dust as well. She retracts her staff back into an impossibly thin stick that had been on her back under the dreadlocks and held tight to her armor.

She produces five more vials from her wrist based storage device, scooping up bits of the five separate piles before they blow away.

As she walks back over to Chucky's head he says, "what the fuck…were you going easy on me?"

She looks down as she grabs him by the hair and hisses out, "yes," and walks off with now six vampire as vials and the head of a living doll.

Not far away a small camera device on a roof top is signaling video of the street back to the Slayers base outside of town.

Buffy says, "looks like we have a new player in vamp town."

"No," says a purple haired woman, "that creature is not of this world…not of this universe, my ex-master may have arranged for this hunter to appear here to punish her escaped toy…or she knows we are watching her mansion's door in your world."

Elsewhere and sometime later on Sti'laka's ship she sets the vampire vials down on red grids, the female voiced computer she had taken from a foolish Hirogen sometime back that had tried to hunt her spouting out congratulations of killing six Whedenverse Buffy slash Angel parallel world twelve vampires. She doesn't really care, she had intended one but these vampires were weak, the two foot doll had giving her more of a challenge. A spike extends up next to a familiar hockey mask impaled through its eyes. She jams Chucky's head down on the spike.

"Bitch," mutters Chucky still able to talk.

Next to Chucky is another head, a burnt head wearing a Fedora, a clawed glove lying down under it.

"Looks like I have a room-mate," says Freddy Krueger.

"How the fuck she'd get you?" asks Chucky, "Last I saw your dumb ass it was going to that wizard world."

"No fucking clue what you're talking about…most likely a different Freddy…just like our pal's sports equipment over there…on my world I fought that son of a bitch. But that don't *sniff* smell like the Jason I knew."

Sti'laka finds herself stuck in place while trying to leave the room, a green archaic symbol on the floor under her feet. It levitates and turns her around. She can't move or speak as a woman with a large bust, long wavy green hair, and wearing green robes stands in her ship…not that Sti'laka can see green right now; to her eyes there is a female form amidst twirling thermal clouds and her scanner going ballistic with its symbols indicating a metaphysical entity beyond hunting or military class encounters warning to abort confrontation and retreat.

The woman looks at Freddy's and Chucky's heads, "Our Predator friend here wants trophies,"

She looks at Sti'Laka as she says, "not room-mates am I right; I will leave you with their heads for your collection hunter…however their souls…"

She looks at Freddy and Chucky as her eyes glow with a menacing green, "are mine," her expression could make a dragon question if he's a newt.

She holds out her hand, a green sigil appearing in the air as blue and red energies pull from Freddy and Chucky's heads, leaving their heads lifeless and the holograms turning on, showing Freddy taunting with his glove claws and Chucky standing ready to fight with his knife as when he was barking orders at someone he thought was dressed in a costume. A flash of green light and the woman known as Misaline vanishes with the souls of these two combatants. Sti'laka once freed is quick to examine her collection; she sort of laughs realizing the talking heads are now silent; as they should be. But she isn't spending a second longer than she has to on a planet with an Apex Extinction class metaphysical being around.

Later Freddy would find himself stuck inside a Freddy Krueger plastic action figure and Chucky inside a similar sized Chucky toy, both being held in plastic like (yet a drastically different and much stronger material) terrariums made to look like their own homes or native environments. Their fate being decorations and "pets" for Misaline and her guests to look at; among other micro-horror creatures, Chucky's other side neighbore being a tiny drone Xenomorph.

*to follow this Chucky's backstory,

(Rhulan vs Chucky)

(Tiny Assassins)

And

(Godzilla vs Chucky)

*for the Jason mentioned

(Rhulan vs Jason)

And

(Jin the Archer vs Jason)


	52. Chapter 52: Predator vs Freddy

On the surface this appears to be a normal looking tea room for a proper British Lady, however upon closer examination, things start to seem…off. Such as by looking out a nearby window one would see a volleyball game going on, with a huge breasted female Cthulhu on one side with a floating Beholder from Dungeons and Dragons; only with a pair of massively muscular humanoid arms with grey skin and demon like claws; playing against a plastic life sized and fully mobile and articulated Barbie Doll who is partnered with something sort of resembling superman with bat-man's head wearing chains around his torso and instead of a cape he has four red octopus tentacles hanging and swishing about off his shoulders.

As interesting as a story about these four creatures might be…they have nothing to do with this story really; our story is back inside the room as along two walls there are lined aquariums and terrariums made of a material not yet known to humans (unless this is being read after Axlex Sythetic Polymer has been invented or has a different name in your reality material that replaces plastic as the go to clear cheap material). Inside these cages, for all intensive purposes, are miniature living plastic creatures, monsters from across time, space, dimensions, and realities being held here trapped inside living plastic replicas of their original bodies…or best known bodies. The absolute hilarity of this situation being that Chucky is in the form of the possessed doll he is most recognized as, only instead of being a two foot tall plastic toy he is now a two inches tall plastic toy. On one side of him is a plastic Xenomorph, on the other a plastic Freddy Krueger; as to how Chucky and Freddy got like this…well; read (Predator vs Chucky).

The Xenomorph is no fun, can't talk and basically just hunches around trying to hide in the fake replica of a hive. This Freddy however met Chucky while they were both decapitated living heads on Sti'laka's trophy case; eventually Freddy would tell Chucky how he came to be in that trophy case; this is a third person retelling of how that happened.

After the events of (Freddy vs Jason), the decapitated head of Freddy Krueger had been set in the cabin with Jason's other heads. The soul of the dream killer was eventually able to exit the head, not sure why he was stuck in it in the first place; being killed while in the mortal world usually seems him right back to the dream world; but apparently this form of death has a lag to that happening. Regardless as time passed Freddy regained the strength to enter the dreams of teens and kids; as with many instances of this happening some of the survivors of his attacks discovered that they could pull him out of the dream world after grabbing onto him and waking up, doing so with bits of his clothing. A funny thing about dreams, most of the time they are self induced hallucinations, confined to one's own head; other times a person's dream state mind may bind to their astral body and wander the astral plane. Freddy works by creating an astral pocket around a specific person, a tiny pocket dimension that he completely controls. These are mystical terms, to a scientist these would be in place of astral body, dimensional imprint and in place of astral plane a form of sub-space or one of the two co-habited dimensions that our dimensional imprint coincides with, and Freddy would be creating a pocket dimension in which he traps a person's dimensional imprint and creates a direct physical link with the physical body so he can harm and kill people from the safety and total control of his own realm.

A fun fact about vehicles that travel across realities, entering a new reality introduces into it not just foreign physical matter but also the other eleven dimensions attached to that matter, creating a massive distortion wake before the dimensions synch up; so it was while bland teen boy who looks to be in his twenties is leaning over generic attractive teen girl who looks to be in her twenties pondering when he should wake her as she is trying to lure Freddy into their trap to drag him into the "real world" that the most unexpected thing happened.

The girl screamed as a pillar of blue electric light shot up around her; meanwhile on Sti'laka's ship a ghostly image of the girl appeared as did Freddy; as in this same moment her vessel was entering that reality. The girl having a physical body returned to her body, however the dimensional stabilizers and localized gravity of the alien vessel trapped the materializing dream demon there. Sta'laka turned her head confused at the strange creature giving off no heat signature but weird metaphysical energy signatures. Freddy however mistook the Shadow Born Yautja female for the girl he was after going all "dream warrior" on him, unaware yet that he had entered the real world and taunted her before going in for a slash. His arm was grabbed, and wrist crushed by Sti'laka's powerful grip. She threw him back a short ways, extended her combi stick to scythe form and cut his head off. This Predator was certainly surprised to find this undead thing still able to talk and badmouth her after its head was cut off. She stuck it on a spike behind a force field with the claw glove under it before dropping the body out of the hatch, right in the front lawn of the kids who had been trying to pull him into the real world. They never found out who or what had killed the man who had been killing their friends

Of course the rest is history (Predator vs Chucky), Misaline the reality warping sorceress took back Chucky's soul from his severed head and while there took Freddy's soul as well. As a point, the Freddy Chucky knew prior to this one had been dodging spell traps that propagated through the minds of humans who came into contact with one another, set out in the mind of the first person by the dimension hopping sorceress Rhulan before the Darkness, an ancient mystical force had saved him with the promise of a new world to terrorize. This world had turned out to be Aesperia, where he had begun to terrorize the youths of a small town; unfortunately for him this being a mystical world they knew the signs of a demon right away and called upon a priestess by the name of Lana. She used a dream eater dagger along with a series of spells to extract Freddy from the dream world and send him into the dagger; which proceeded to digest him into nothingness *designed specifically for dream demons and psychic parasites*. This Freddy should consider himself lucky that his run in with multi-dimensinal forces started with getting his head cut off by a Yautja and ended with him trapped in a terrarium as a plastic action figure of himself.

*for more on the less lucky Freddy

(Rhulan vs Freddy)

And

(Lana vs Freddy)

-magic based monsters fighting high tech alien hunters makes for weird and confusing encounters-


End file.
